Total Drama Winners
by Lord of the Sloths
Summary: After the success of the previous season, Chris decides to bring back eighteen of his favourite and best performing contestants to battle it out on season two's old abandoned film lot. Which one will be an even bigger winner and which ones will be losers? Find out on Total. Drama. Winners!
1. Lights! Camera! Elimination! Part 1

**Well, that was fast. It hasn't even been a week since I finished Total Drama Losers. I already did have a lot of what I was going to do planned out in my head so I guess it figures. Also, you do not have to have already read my previous fanfic to get what's happening in this one as I will try to avoid referencing events that happened in that story. Anyway, I know this is kinda soon for the new story but I hope you like it anyway. Let me know if you think it's too rushed.**

* * *

On an early morning in Toronto Chris McLean stood in front of the gates to a familiar looking movie studio with his trusty co-host, Chef.

"Hey there folks! Welcome to yet another season of Total Drama!" Chris announced. "As you might remember last season we brought back some of this show's biggest losers to fight on Pahkitew Island. Well, right now we're bringing back eighteen of our biggest winners to fight it out at the old abandoned movie studio from season two for a grand prize of one million dollars."

"So it's like All-Stars?" Chef asked.

"No, this is totally different." Chris denied. "We're at a film lot… Mostly because Pahkitew Island is under construction right now."

"It sounds exactly the same." Chef told his co-host.

"Okay, fine, it's pretty similar." Chris admitted. "But I made an effort not to invite the same people back… Mostly. You'll see what I mean in a moment. We're about to get things started right here on Total. Drama. Winners!"

* * *

 **(Theme Song)**

* * *

The scene faded in on Chris and Chef back in front of the gate to the movie studio.

"What was with that?" Chef asked. "Ya just paused for like, five seconds."

"I was pausing for the intro. You've been here for years. You should know this by now." Chris told him.

"Jeez, sorry." Chef replied.

Chris looked away from his co-host and back to the camera.

"You all know what time it is." Chris said to the audience. "Time to meet this season's batch of contestants!"

A tour bus pulled up to the gate of the studio.

"First, let's meet season one finalist Owen!" Chris announced.

Owen enthusiastically stepped out of the bus.

"Woo! It's so cool to be back for another season!" Owen cheered.

He went over and hugged Chris.

"Easy there…" Chris uncomfortably remarked. "This is getting a little too friendly."

"Oh, sorry." Owen apologized as he let go of Chris. "I just haven't been on this show in a little while."

Owen stepped to the side of Chris.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Owen)**

"Being back here is awesome!" Owen exclaimed. "The film lot was probably the favourite place Chris took us because it was the least dangerous."

* * *

"Next up, it's season four finalist with a permanent bleach hairdo: Lightning!" Chris announced.

Lightning jumped out through the buses front door and struck a dramatic pose.

"Sha-blam! Nobody'd better mess with Lightning!" Lightning proclaimed. "Where's the challenge at?"

"It hasn't started." Chris told him. "Just wait next to Owen for now."

"Oh, all right. That's cool." Lightning replied before moving over to where Owen was.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Lightning)**

"Lightning ain't gonna be taken down this season." Lightning told the audience. "These guys are bowling pins and Lightning's the ball that's gonna knock 'em over… Hmm, that was smart. Lightning needs to start sayin' more things like that."

* * *

"Up next, it's Pahkitew Island finalist: Sky!" Chris announced.

Sky stepped off of the bus.

"Wow, it's good to be back." Sky remarked. "I'm going back to the finale again."

"Don't get too ahead of yourself." Chris told her. "Hopefully you won't make anyone else lose their mind."

"Okay, that wasn't my fault." Sky defended as she took her place with the other two.

"Whatever." Chris said. "Don't really care."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sky)**

"Last season ended on a bit of an… _Awkward_ , note for me." Sky admitted. "And it's all Dave's fault. Hopefully, I can put that all behind me and win this time."

* * *

"Next is someone who hasn't been with Total Drama since the last time we were at this film lot: Geoff!" Chris announced.

Geoff got out of the bus and looked around.

"Dude! This is gonna be super cool!" Geoff cheered. "It'll be so weird to be here after the race though."

"What race?" Chris asked.

"I was on the Ridonculous Race. Pretty sure it's on the same channel as this show." Geoff told him.

"How do ya not keep up with this?" Chef asked Chris.

"I'm not obsessed over reality TV unlike some people." Chris answered.

"Dude, you host reality TV." Geoff pointed out.

"Shut up." Chris told him.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Geoff)**

"It's gonna be weird to not have Brody or Bridgette here." Geoff remarked. "He's my best bud, and she's my girlfriend. I'm always around at least one of them. At least I got people I know like Owen here."

* * *

"Let's get back to the rest of these contestants. Next, it's someone who's done pretty good in both her seasons: Zoey!" Chris exclaimed.

Zoey stepped out from the bus and waved to everybody.

"Hi there." Zoey greeted the others before looking around. "Wow, I can't believe I'm at the season two movie set."

"That's nice Zoey. Please go join everyone else." Chris instructed her.

"Uh, I wasn't finished." Zoey told him.

"Too bad." Chris replied. "We've still got other people to introduce."

Zoey walked over to where the other contestants were standing.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Zoey)**

"I like to consider myself to be pretty humble." Zoey remarked. "But… I just have to say it. I'm very confident in my chances this season. I got third place in season four, and the season after that I made the finals. I think it's safe to say I'll at least make the merge."

* * *

"Next, it's one contestant who suffered of the Total Drama curse of going bald at some point while here: Dave!" Chris announced.

Dave got out from the bus.

"Hello, _Chris_." Dave greeted Chris, sounding slightly angry.

"What's the matter? You sound upset about something?" Chris asked.

"I was almost killed by a psychotic robot bear thanks to you." Dave reminded him.

"Oh yeah, what fun times." Chris reminisced in a sarcastic fashion. "Anywho, have a good stay here and try not to go nuts and attempt to murder anybody again."

"Okay, first off, I wasn't trying to kill anyone, and two, it wasn't my fault." Dave defended.

"Don't care." Chris said as shoved Dave away towards the others.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Dave)**

"Look, I get it. I did look sorta… _Insane_ , during my last appearance on the show." Dave admitted. "But none of that would have happened if it wasn't for Sky. Whatever, this time, I'm hoping I can just forget about that and win."

* * *

"Anyway, next it's the only first generation contestant who was in All-Stars that I'm bringing back here: Lindsay!"

There was a pause as nothing happened.

"Lindsay! That's your cue!" Chris shouted into the bus.

Lindsay stepped out of the bus.

"Oh, sorry Chad." Lindsay apologized. "I didn't realize."

"How does Chad even sound like Chris at all?" Chris asked.

"What are you talking about?" Lindsay replied.

"It doesn't matter, just wait with everyone else." Chris instructed her.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Lindsay)**

"Wow, I can't believe I've been on this show five times." Lindsay commented. "That's so cool! I hope I do better than last time though. I remembered the difference between pushing and pulling between seasons."

* * *

"After her, we've got Revenge of the Island's other, more competent jock: Jo!" Chris announcend.

Jo climbed down the stairs of the bus and looked around.

"Hmm, so this is the competition." Jo remarked. "This shouldn't be too tough."

"Getting cocky already, eh. That's never a good thing to do." Chris told her.

"Shut up, McLean." Jo replied. "What are you, my dad?"

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jo)**

"I was taken out embarrassingly early last time I was here." Jo recapped. "But this time, things are gonna be different. I'm gonna make it to the finale, I'm gonna get that million dollars, and most importantly, I'm finally gonna get that walnut brained idiot Lightning to realize that I'm a girl!"

* * *

"Next, from Pahkitew Island, it's the nuttiest contestant this side of Izzy: Shawn!" Chris announced.

Shawn got out from the bus.

"Actually, I try to look at thing's semi-rationally now." Shawn stated.

"George Romero." Chris said

"Where?! Get away zombie lover!" Shawn exclaimed. "Uh… That didn't happen."

Shawn walked over to the others.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Shawn)**

"Ever since I started dating Jasmine I've began loosening up about the whole zombie thing." Shawn explained. "I got rid of most of the land mines in my front yard, I threw out all the excess locks in my house, I even started eating my emergency apocalypse goods as just regular food… But I still like to keep my guard up. Just in case."

* * *

"Next, it's the nerdiest contestant to ever participate on Total Drama: Harold!" Chris announced.

Harold stepped off the bus.

"I really consider myself more of a geek." Harold commented.

"Guess what, nobody cares." Chris told him.

"Gosh, no need to be so abrasive." Harold remarked before walking over to the others.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Harold)**

"After voluntarily quitting last time, I want to prove that I can handle myself this time." Harold said followed by a short pause. "If they didn't confiscate my nunchucks on the bus, I'd show you a cool trick right about now."

* * *

"Next, it's an All-Star finalist: Mike!" Chris announced.

Mike stepped out of the bus.

"Hey there." Mike greeted them.

"So Mike, what's it like now that you haven't got all those guys running around in your head?" Chris asked.

"Uh… It's all right." Mike replied before going over to the others.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Mike)**

"This is the first time I've been on this show without my personalities." Mike said. "I'm going to be honest, I'm not sure how pressing a button inside my head got rid of them. But since I was chased by mutant monsters the first time I was on this show, I just learned to accept it."

* * *

"Next we got Australian outdoors survivalist: Jasmine!" Chris announced.

Jasmine ducked down to avoid hitting her head on the way out and got out of the bus.

"Well, 'ello there everyone." Jasmine greeted. "It's good to take a gander at the competition."

"Good to have you here too." Chris told her. "You freakishly tall Bee Gees fan."

"Hmm, never 'eard that stereotype before." Jasmine remarked before going over to the rest.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jasmine)**

"I think my time in the spotlight was cut short last time." Jasmine remarked. "This time, no overweight pageant queen's gonna get the better of me."

* * *

"Our penultimate first generation camper is a girl with an affinity for fruit themed shirts: Leshawna!" Chris announced.

Leshawna got out of the bus.

"Ya gotta problem with my shirt?" Leshawna asked.

"I just think it's a little weird that you always wear the same fruit shirt." Chris told her.

"How 'bout you just mind your own business?" Leshawna suggested to him.

"Fair point." Chris admitted.

"Good." Leshawna said before going over to the other people.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Leshawna)**

"I was _not_ happy at all with my elimination back in World Tour." Leshawna stated. "This time whatever happened to me then ain't happening."

* * *

"Next, it's Total Drama's favourite, and only, dirt farmer: Scott!" Chris announced.

Scott down from the bus.

"Hmmm, this'd better go better than the other times." Scott remarked.

"Don't worry, this studio is mostly shark free." Chris told him.

"Mostly?" Scott confusedly replied.

"Relax, you'll be fine." Chris said. "Probably…"

"Well, this is probably a bad way to start." Scott remarked.

Scott walked over to the other contestants.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Scott)**

"Things are gonna be different around here." Scott told the camera. "I'm going to make it to the finale. This season needs a villain, and it's gonna be me."

* * *

"Our next contestant is someone who probably shouldn't have made it as far as she did." Chris said. "Sugar!"

Sugar got out of the bus.

"What'd ya say 'bout me!" Sugar shouted at Chris.

"Nothing." Chris quickly replied.

"Oh, all right." Sugar said.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sugar)**

"Can't believe they didn't like my country rap last time. Well, that ain't happenin' again." Sugar stated. "I ain't gonna get eliminated at all."

* * *

"Our final first generation contestant is someone who I'm not really sure how to introduce." Chris admitted. "It's Beth!"

Beth enthusiastically got down from the bus.

"Wow, it is so cool to be back here." Beth remarked.

"Uh… What's she doing here?" Leshawna asked.

"How's she a winner?" Jo asked.

"I was a season two finalist, remember?" Beth reminded them.

"Hmm… Musta forgot." Leshawna remarked.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Beth)**

"Well, being forgotten probably isn't a good start." Beth commented. "But on the bright side, it can only be up from here."

* * *

"Next, is the last contestant from Revenge of the Island: Anne Maria!" Chris announced.

Anne Maria stepped off the bus.

"Okay, why's she here?" Scott asked.

"Hey! Ya gotta problem with me?" Anne Maria angrily asked.

"Well, we didn't wanna invite all the Revenge of the Island guys from All-Stars back. So to keep it different we brought in Anne Maria since we already used Brick and Dakota last season." Chris explained.

"What? Ya didn't tell me I was the backup." Anne Maria said. "Man, this already blows."

Anne Maria went over to the other contestants.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Anne Maria)**

"'Kay, so I learned my lesson from the last time I was here." Anne Maria told the audience. "No matter how big or shiny they are, don't pick up any diamonds and quit 'cause of them."

* * *

"And last but not least we're about to meet the most evil, most dangerous, most psychotic contestant to every be on Total Drama…" Chris began. "Is what I would say if we got permission to release Scarlett from prison. Instead, here's Max!"

Max stepped down from the bus.

"Haha! Yes! Tremble before me!" Max commanded.

"Why doesn't the little guy have a neck?" Lindsay asked.

"I was just gonna say the same thing." Geoff remarked. "It's freaking me out."

"How dare you insult me!" Max exclaimed. "You'll be the first to die when I take over the world!"

"Max, you can talk later." Chris told him.

"Hmmph…" Max grumbled.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Max)**

"They may mock my lack of a neck and purple hair now… But soon, I'll be the one laughing as they grovel at my feet!" Max declared before he began evilly laughing.

* * *

"So, we've got everyone now." Chris told the contestants. "I'm going to split you all up into teams in a moment. But first, let's have a change in setting."

Chef drove up to the contestants in a touring vehicle.

"All aboard!" Chef announced to the contestants.

The contestants got into the touring cart and took a seat. Chris climbed into the tour vehicle with them.

"All right Chef, take 'em away." Chris instructed his co-hist.

Chef nodded and started driving.

"Please take in the scenery." Chris told the contestants. "It's where you'll be staying for a good while. On the bright side, instead of the usual slimy outhouse confessional, you get the noticeably less slimy makeup room confessional."

"Ooh, this is already a great start." Lindsay remarked.

"Now, before we get to the teams it's time for me to explain more things." Chris said before turning away from the contestants. "Intern! My notepad!"

An intern went over to Chris and handed him a notebook.

"Here you go sir." The intern replied.

"Thank you." Chris said before turning to the contestants. "First news, the good old Chris McLean Invincibility Statue is back."

Chris flipped to a drawing of a bust of him made of wood in the notepad.

"If you get it, you can't be eliminated. If it looks like you're about to get the boot, just take this baby out and you get to stay for at least one more day." Chris explained. "But there's more."

He turned to a page in the notepad which featured what looked like another bust of him, this one made of stone.

"This is the Stone McLean Statue." Chris explained. "If you find this it gives you the ability to block somebody else's vote. If you think you can stay if it wasn't just by one vote, then whip this thing out. But take care, if you make a bad choice on who to block, you could still get eliminated. But wait, there's still more."

He flipped one more page to reveal another bust in his likeness. This time, made of gold.

"And finally, we have the Gold McLean Statue." Chris went on. "It gives you the ability to vote twice one time. Again, us this one carefully. Because if you use it unwisely, you might still get eliminated. Well, that's everything."

Chris threw his notepad off the vehicle.

"Ow!" Someone exclaimed from off camera. "Watch it!"

"Sorry!" Chris shouted to them. "Just remember I can probably fire you at any time!"

Just then, the vehicle came to a stop.

"All right everybody, get out." Chef told everyone.

The contestants and Chris got out of the touring vehicle in front of two trailers.

"This is where the two teams are staying." Chris explained.

"Hmmm… I've seen worse." Jasmine remarked.

"So, you're all probably wondering what the teams will be at this point, right?" Chris asked.

"Uh, I guess so." Dave replied.

"Great." Chris said. "We will be determining the teams in a captain based system. Since Lightning and Owen were the first to arrive, they get first pick."

"Oh, cool." Owen remarked.

"Sha-awesome!" Lightning cheered.

"Oh great, we let lard tub and no-brain choose teams. What could go wrong there." Jo commented.

"Not cool." Geoff told her. "And I'm not even one of the guys you just insulted."

"Anyway, once they make their first choices, the people they chose get to pick the next person for their team and so on until we run out of contestants." Chris continued to explain. "Owen, you may pick first."

"Hmm… I think I'll pick someone I know." Owen remarked. "Someone like… Harold."

"Yes." Harold quietly cheered to himself before walking up to Owen.

"Lightning, you're next." Chris told him.

"Cool." Lightning replied. "Hmm… Lightning picks Jo. Bros gotta stick together."

"I'm not even going to bother correcting you this time." Jo told Lightning as she walked over to him.

"Harold, Jo, since you've just been chosen you get to pick who comes on your team next." Chris explained to them. "Harold you go now."

"Awesome." Harold remarked. "I choose the lovely Leshawna."

"Thanks a lot." Leshawna replied as she walked over to him.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Leshawna)**

"Seems like Harold's still got a thing for me." Leshawna remarked. "I guess I don't mind it. I just want him to know we ain't gettin' back together."

* * *

"I get to choose now, right?" Jo asked.

Chris nodded.

"Okay… Who'd be the most athletic…" Jo pondered. "I pick the tall chick with the accent?"

"You mean me?" Jasmine asked.

"Yeah." Jo replied.

"Arright." Jasmine said, walking over to her.

"Hmm, if I gotta choose next, I pick the pale freckles boy." Leshawna picked, pointing to Scott. "He looks like me might be good."

"You won't regret this." Scott told her.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Scott)**

"She's a pretty bad judge of character if you ask me." Scott remarked. "I don't even trust me sometimes."

* * *

"Well, if I'm supposed to pick next I choose Shawn." Jasmine decided. "Is that okay?"

"Of course it is." Shawn replied before walking over to her.

"Hmm… I pick Dave." Scott decided. "He looks smart."

"Thank you very much." Dave replied.

Dave walked up to his new team.

"I think I choose Sky." Shawn decided. "I know her, and she's athletic."

"I'm just glad I don't have to share my team with Dave now." Sky commented.

"The feeling's mutual." Dave told her.

"Hem… Awkward." Chris remarked. "Uh, Dave, who do you choose?"

"Uh, Zoey." Dave picked. "She looks like she'll be good at challenges."

"How nice of you." Zoey remarked as she walked over to join her team.

"Uh… I think I'll pick Mike." Sky said. "He looks the most useful. No offence to anyone else."

"Wait what? Did you say my name?" Mike asked.

"Yes." Sky replied.

"Oh… Uh, I sort of wanted to be on a team with Zoey." Mike told her.

"Yeah, I was planning on picking him." Zoey added.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't realize that was your plan." Sky apologized.

"It's totally fine." Mike replied as he walked up to his new team. "Me and Zoey can spend some time apart. We're not one of those couples that's always keeping tabs on each other or anything."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Zoey)**

"Obviously I can get along just fine without Mike." Zoey said. "It's just nice to have your boyfriend on your team with you. We've always sort of had an alliance together. Well technically it was mostly Mal in All-Stars… I'm getting off topic. The point is I miss him."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Mike)**

"Being away from Zoey won't be so bad." Mike told himself. "We'll be able to talk to each other if we reach the merge. And until they I have all sorts of other people to talk to."

* * *

"All right, since I can't choose Mike I'll go for Anne Maria." Zoey picked. "At least I know her a little."

"Sheesh, It's about time somebody 'round here picked me." Anne Maria remarked as she went up to Zoey. "I've been waitin' forever."

"Well, out of everyone left I guess I choose Lindsay." Mike chose. "I sorta met her in All-Stars."

Lindsay ran up to her new team.

"Wow, it's so great to be here Mitch." Lindsay told Mike.

"Uh… It's Mike." Mike corrected.

"Oh, whoops. Sorry." Lindsay apologized.

Anne Maria looked at the remaining contestants.

"This is what I'm workin' with?" Anne Maria remarked. "Jeez, this ain't easy."

She continued to look over the remaining contestants.

"You, fat girl, what's your name?" Anne Maria asked, pointing to Sugar.

"Who're ya callin' fat!" Sugar shouted. "I'm plump at most! Get over here ya fake tanned floozy! I'll punch yer stupid face in!"

"Hmm… Like the attitude." Anne Maria remarked. "'Kay, you're in."

"Wait what?" Sugar confusedly replied. "All right."

Sugar walked up to her new team.

"Ooh! Ooh! I pick Beth!" Lindsay enthusiastically exclaimed.

"Wow, thanks!" Beth cheered as she ran up to Lindsay. "This'll be great!"

"Sugar, you now have to choose between Max and Geoff." Chris instructed her.

"I pick the short guy." Sugar decided. "I 'member that guy was hilarious!"

"How dare you laugh at evil!" Max exclaimed as he went over to his team.

"Geoff, that leaves you with the other team." Chris told him.

"I'm cool with it." Geoff replied. "I don't mind it."

"All right everyone, time for team names." Chris informed the teams. "The team consisting of Owen, Harold, Leshawna, Scott, Dave, Zoey, Anne Maria, Sugar, and Max is now known as... The Raving Writers!"

A red circle containing a quill and pen crossed with skull on top of them appeared above the new team.

"Why are you pausing?" Scott asked.

"So the editors can add in your logo in post." Chris replied. "I really thought you'd have gotten this by now."

Chris turned his attention to the other team.

"Lightning, Jo, Jasmine, Shawn, Sky, Mike, Lindsay, Beth, and Geoff. You are now... The Angry Editors!" Chris announced.

An orange circle with a strip of film being slashed through by a pair of scissors inside of it appeared above the new team.

"So, you've all been divided up." Chris said. "I'll give you all a few moments to get to know each other a bit better."

The camera focused itself on Raving Writers.

"So, this is who I'll be commanding for the next several weeks." Max remarked. "Not what I would have chose but I suppose it shall do."

"Shuddup ya muchkin!" Anne Maria yelled at him. "Your voice sounds like a cheese grater to the ear and you were chosen second to last."

"You shall be the first to fall." Max proclaimed.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Owen)**

"Max sure is… Well, he's interesting. That's for sure." Owen remarked before giggling a little bit. "I think I'll like him after a little bit."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Max)**

"My team seems to have very little respect for me right now." Max remarked. "I'll be sure to make them pay for that."

* * *

"You know, I think I'll end up liking most of you." Zoey commented.

"Whadda ya mean _most_ of you. Were ya talkin' about me?" Sugar angrily asked.

"Uh, no, I was talking about Scott and Anne-" Zoey began before realizing what she was saying and throwing her hands over her mouth.

"You don't need to do that. I'm okay with it." Scott told her.

"Well I sure ain't." Anne Maria remarked.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Leshawna)**

"I ain't really a fan of a lotta these newer guys." Leshawna admitted. "Most of 'em seem to be pretty cocky. I'll stick to the guys I know for now. Who knows though, maybe they'll grown on me."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Harold)**

"I've weighed the strengths and weaknesses of both teams against each other." Harold stated. "We seem evenly matched but I think my team is slightly better."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Dave)**

"I may have to put up with Max and Sugar but on the bright side I don't have to deal with Sky." Dave said.

* * *

The camera moved over to the Angry Editors.

"Hmm… So this is my team… This isn't gonna be fun." Jo remarked. "At least the midget and the giantess look like they can hold their own."

"You realize we can all hear you, right?" Beth asked.

"Oh… that was supposed to be in my head." Jo realized. "Can you all ignore that."

"It's kinda hard to, dudette." Geoff told her.

"Hang on, why should I ignore that?" Lindsay asked.

"Wait, am I the midget?" Sky asked. "I'm not that short, right?"

"It doesn't matter what I said." Jo replied. "Let's just move on."

"Sha-yeah! Let's move on like we're gonna move straight through the other team!" Lightning cheered.

"What does that even mean?" Mike asked.

"Dunno, Lightning just thought of it now." Lightning replied. "Pretty cool, right?"

"Uh… I guess so." Mike replied.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jasmine)**

"Being at this movie set sure is different than roughin' it out on an island." Jasmine admitted. "I'm not letting my guard down too much though."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Shawn)**

"With me and Jasmine on this team I think we've got a pretty good shot at not losing." Shawn remarked. "I don't even know what the first challenge is and I'm already confident in saying that."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Mike)**

"Not only do I don't have my other personalities, but I also don't have Zoey. This is pretty new." Mike admitted. "I think I can handle it though."

* * *

The camera zoomed out to show Chris between the teams.

"All right, that's enough of that stuff." Chris told the competitors. "One last thing. The trailer to the left is the girls trailer, and the trailer to the right is the boys. Understood?"

A general murmur of agreement came from the contestants.

"Great. I'll give everyone here a few moments to settle in to your living quarters." Chris told them.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Geoff)**

"Coming back to this film studio place was kinda weird." Geoff remarked. "'Specially 'cause last time I was here I did badly. Like _really, really_ badly. I'm hoping to do way better this time."

* * *

The scene changed to later with the girls entering their trailer.

"Wow, I forgot how nice this place is." Lindsay remarked. "Well… In comparison."

"Yeehaw! Now this is how a pageant queen lives!" Sugar cheered. "Way better than livin' in a cave."

"Oh yeah, now this is where I deserve to stay." Anne Maria said.

"I call top bunk!" Beth exclaimed. "I'm not sure which one. I just want one of them."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jo)**

"A lot of the girls seemed to be pretty happy with the trailer." Jo remarked. "Well, on one hand it's good to have a nice place to live. But on the other hand it'll make them become soft and less likely to take the game seriously."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jasmine)**

"Look, I'm arright with living in a trailer like this." Jasmine told the audience. "But I feel like my survival skills are wasted at this place."

* * *

The camera focused on Leshawna and Sky talking over by one of the beds.

"So whadda you think of this place?" Leshawana asked.

"It's nice." Sky replied. "I'm real glad I don't have to share a team with Dave."

"What's goin' on with you two? I feel like I missed a whole lotta stuff." Leshawna remarked.

"I don't wanna get into it too much." Sky replied. "The short version is, he had a thing for me, I had a boyfriend, and he didn't want to hear about it until it was way too late."

"I'm sure you'll both get over it." Leshawna told her. "Teen drama stuff doesn't last forever."

The camera moved over to Anne Maria putting some of her luggage away.

"Hmm… I hope I packed enough hair spray." Anne Maria remarked.

Lindsay and Beth approached Anne Maria from behind.

"Hey there Ally Mara." Lindsay greeted.

"Well… That's kinda close." Anne Maria remarked. "Whadda you two want?"

"Uh, I just wanted to say that your hair is really pretty." Beth told her. "I was wondering if we could be friends."

"Um, can ya both let me unpack?" Anne Maria asked. "I need my personal space, 'kay?"

* * *

 **(Confessional: Anne Maria)**

"Just gonna say it, I ain't really sure why Beth's here." Anne Maria admitted. "She ain't that strong lookin', smart lookin', she ain't even that pretty either."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Beth)**

"I don't wanna sound self centred or anything, but I think I can win." Beth said. "I mean, I already got to the final two once."

* * *

Elsewhere in the girls' trailer, Zoey was lying down on her bed.

"Hmm… I think I can get used to this." Zoey remarked.

Before Zoey could say anything else Sugar went over to the bed and sat down.

"Howdy, how're you doing?" Sugar asked.

"Uh… All right." Zoey replied. "What's your name again? I don't really think we met?"

"I'm Sugar." Sugar answered.

"Is that your real name, or is it a nickname?" Zoey asked.

"I dunno." Sugar admitted. "I can't really remember. I'll have to ask my ma."

"How do you not know your real name?" Zoey replied.

Sugar shrugged.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Zoey)**

"Yeah… Sugar's weird." Zoey remarked. "She's also a little scary and I can't pinpoint why."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sugar)**

"I ain't here to play around." Sugar said. "It was way too embarrassin' to go home third place last time. I'm gonna win and I'm gonna use my… What's that thing called? Oh yeah, my brain."

* * *

Meanwhile, the male contestants had arrived in their trailer.

"Dude, this place is pretty sick." Geoff commented. "By this show's standards at least."

"Hmm, where's Jo?" Lightning wondered. "Shouldn't he be here?"

"He? You do realize Jo's a girl, right?" Harold questioned.

"Man, you need to get your eyes checked." Lightning told Harold. "Who'd name a girl Jo? It's like naming a boy Leslie."

"It's probably just short for Josephine or Joanne." Harold replied. "Possibly Jolene. Although that name is statistically less popular."

"Hey, nerd, it's not worth arguing with him over." Scott told him.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Owen)**

"All the other guys seemed pretty fun." Owen remarked. "Even the ones I hadn't met. I've never really had a strategy before so I'll just stick to having fun."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Shawn)**

"The beds look nice and cozy. But me personally, I saw a tree outside the girls' trailer that'd be nice to sleep in." Shawn admitted. "That way if anything bad happens I can grab Jasmine and get out of here."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Max)**

"Most of my comrades seem to have skulls thicker than…" Max began, struggling for a comparison. "Something really thick… I know! A Chicago pizza! Wait… What was I talking about?"

* * *

The scene changed to Dave in a corner of the trailer by himself.

"Well… These people may not be that smart… But it could be worse." Dave commented to himself.

Just then, Mike walked up to where Dave stood.

"Hey there Dave." Mike greeted. "Why are you all the way back here?"

"I'm just waiting for everyone else to finish unpacking." Dave explained. "There's less chaos that way."

"That makes sense." Mike remarked. "Hey, I have a question that I hope isn't too personal. What was with you and Sky?

"I don't like talking about it." Dave replied. "I was sort of in love with her, she already had a boyfriend, and she never told me until it was way too late."

"Wow, I am glad me and Zoey never had to deal with anything like that." Mike remarked.

"Can you not talk about your perfect relationship in front of me?" Dave requested.

"Oh… Sorry." Mike apologized.

The camera moved to elsewhere in the trailer with Max sitting on his bed.

"Those fools… Idly sitting by while I devise a plan to destroy them all!" Max said to himself before he began laughing maniacally.

Max's laughing was cut off when Owen walked up to him.

"What do you want?" Max asked.

"Just curious if I can sleep above you." Owen explained. "Uh, all the other beds are taken. Heh heh."

"Hmmph, you had better not cross me, oaf." Max told him.

"Aw, you're so adorable when you talk like that." Owen remarked.

"Take that back!" Max snapped.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Owen)**

"I don't know if I should be afraid of Max or not." Owen remarked. "I'm going for not."

* * *

The camera cut to a close up of some loud speakers on a long pole.

"Okay ladies and gents! That's enough getting settled!" Chris announced through the speakers. "Meet me and Chef inside the building marked number eight!"

The scene changed to the inside of an empty warehouse with Chris and Chef being the only inhabitants. The two teams entered the warehouse.

"Welcome to your first challenge teams." Chris greeted them. "Enjoying the accommodations so far?"

"OMG, It's way better than I was expecting." Lindsay remarked.

"Meh, I've seen better." Scott remarked.

"Well, despite your differing opinions, it's time for the first challenge to begin." Chris told them.

"I don't see anything in here though." Mike pointed out.

"Yeah, shouldn't there be, like… Stuff?" Geoff asked.

"Oh, you'll see." Chris replied. "Chef, my remote."

Chef handed his co-host a remote control.

"Thank you." Chris said.

Chris pressed a button on his remote. Eighteen panels in the ground near the walls of either side of the room opened up. From each panel rose a metallic chair with a large helmet with glasses resting on it. A tube connected the helmet and chair together. A larger panel in the middle of room opened. From that panel a giant metallic box with various buttons, switches, and screens on it rose.

"What the heck is this?" Zoey asked.

"It all seems very sci-fi." Shawn remarked.

"Behold, the Total Drama Virtual Reality System!" Chris announced. "All of our challenges are going to be taking place inside this machine. You strap on the helmet and are transported into whatever setting this thing is programmed to take you."

"This whole thing sounds ridiculous." Harold replied. "Yet intriguing."

"I'm not too sure about this." Beth admitted. "Isn't this whole thing kind gimmicky and silly?"

"Beth, sweet innocent Beth. You haven't been here in a while, have you?" Chris asked. "Between flying a practically broken plane, radiating an entire island, and letting a super villain run around on a mechanical island this is normal by comparison."

"Why thank you for the mention." Max remarked.

"I wasn't talking about you." Chris told Max. "Anyway, my point is this is just a stepping stone in the wall of madness that is this show."

"Okay, jeez, I got the point." Beth replied.

"Yeah, that got kinda over dramatic at the end." Jasmine added.

"Who uses stepping stones to build a wall?" Lindsay asked.

"Fine, I got a bit carried away." Chris admitted. "Long story short, I blew a lot of this season's budget on getting this machine and it's where every single one of our movie themed challenges will take place. Now, all of you get into those chairs and put on those helmets."

The contestants complied to Chris' orders and sat down in the chairs before placing the helmets on their heads.

"Lightning don't get it, is something supposed to happen?" Lightning asked.

"Give it a second." Chris told him.

Chef walked up to the machine in the middle of the room and pulled a lever sending the contestants into a virtual world.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jo)**

"I had no idea what to expect with that machine." Jo admitted. "All I was hoping is that it would send me somewhere full of adventure and danger."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Zoey)**

"All I really wanted from that machine was it to take me somewhere nice and safe. Like an island resort." Zoey said.

* * *

All the contestants awoke inside the dining hall of a giant cruise ship wearing formal clothing and sitting at the tables in the room. There appeared to be no staff on the ship and in the centre of the room was a stage.

"A cruise ship? Why would Chris send us here?" Sky asked.

"Eee! My wish came true!" Lindsay squealed.

"Mine too!" Beth cheered.

"What movie is he trying to do here?" Owen wondered.

The door to the dining hall opened and Chris entered the room dressed like a ships captain.

"Hello there, passengers!" Chris greeted as he walked up to the stage.

"Why are you in here?" Leshawna asked.

"I transported myself in here to explain the challenge." Chris explained. "There's an extra seat just for such an occasion."

"So, what challenge is this?" Mike asked.

"Yeah, what movie takes place on this swanky cruise liner?" Zoey questioned.

"Have any of you seen the film The Poseidon Adventure?" Chris asked. "Maybe the 2006 remake?"

"Hmmph, I've never heard of this film." Max replied.

"Sounds familiar… I don't think I saw it though." Scott said.

"Oh no… I saw the movie… I know where this is going." Harold realized.

"What's gonna happen?" Sugar asked.

"Yeah, now I'm curious." Beth added.

"Well, for those of you who don't know, it takes place on a cruise ship. Just like this." Chris told them.

"'Kay, I like where this is going." Anne Maria remarked.

"Said cruise ship is then flipped upside down by a giant tidal wave and all those trapped inside must escape." Chris continued.

"Oh… Dammit… I take it back." Anne Maria said.

"Pretty soon, you're all gonna get flipped over." Chris explained. "Whichever team escapes the shipwreck first wins the challenge. Another way to win is if the other team is killed off entirely."

"Uh, I'm sorry, did you say _killed off?!_ " Shawn asked, sounding panicked.

"Don't worry, if you die in the game it just takes you out of the simulation." Chris told them. "Also, unfortunately, there is no way for you to feel pain since this is all virtual. So if you get impaled it will just look awful instead of feeling awful."

"Well… This is a horrible way to start." Zoey remarked.

"Heh… Maybe it's not as bad as it sounds." Geoff hopefully suggested.

"Anywho, that wave should be here any minute now." Chris told the teams. "I'll be going now. Chef should be taking me out of the game right about… Now."

Chris was engulfed in sky blue light before disappearing entirely.

"Huh… Well we're all pretty much screwed." Jo remarked.

* * *

 **Well, there goes the first chapter. I still feel a little weird about coming up with this new chapter so fast. Please be sure to let me know what you think of this new series so far. If you have any predictions on who will be eliminated first or who will win let me know too. I love to hear those. I hope you like the cast. I originally wanted to include characters like Gwen, Courtney, and Alejandro but I worried that would make this cast too similar to All-Stars. I tired to avoid including All-Stars contestants as much as possible. But it was pretty much impossible for Revenge of the Island due to the small amount of characters to choose from. At first I was a little hesitant to use virtual reality in this season. It's been done in several other stories and did feel a bit too unrealistic. But after thinking about all the weird unrealistic things that are already in Total Drama. I feel like virtual reality fits in fine. But you can let me know what you think of that too. Anyway, hope you enjoyed the first chapter. I'll try to put up the next chapter soon so that I don't leave you all hanging for too long.**


	2. Lights! Camera! Elimination! Part 2

**This took a lot longer to get up than I was expecting. Apparently, I underestimated how much work I'd need for this challenge. Speaking of the challenge, I tried to play a lot of the action pretty cartoonishly so let me know how it turned out. Anyway, that's all I've got for this opening authors note. I hope this next chapter doesn't take as long.**

* * *

"Previously, on Total Drama Winners. Eighteen previously competing contestants were brought to the old movie studio for another season of pain and fun." Footage of several of the contestants arriving was seen. "We formed two teams. Some of our contestants were less happy about where they landed than others." Clips of contestants choosing who they want on their teams played next. "Then I revealed a new twist to our teams… The challenges are taking place in Virtual Reality!" A clip of the virtual reality machine being revealed played. "Our teams were transported to a lovely cruise ship… That is currently about to be crushed by a giant wave." Footage of the teams waking up inside the cruise liner was seen.

The footage changed to Chris standing in front of the gates to the studios.

"Which team will escape and which won't be quite as lucky?" Chris went on. "Stay tuned to find out on, Total. Drama. Winners!"

* * *

 **(Theme Song)**

* * *

The scene faded in where it last left off. The teams scattered throughout the dining room of a cruise ship sitting at tables in their formalwear.

"What do we do!? What do we do?!" Beth panicked. "Chris said there's a giant wave coming towards us!"

"Get a hold of yourself!" Jo yelled at her. "Don't panic just yet."

"I don't know 'bout y'all, but I'm gettin' out of here." Sugar told her team as she stood up from her table.

"For once, Sugar, I agree with you." Dave remarked as he got up as well.

"None of ya get up ' til we know what we're doing." Leshawna advised them. "We haven't got any sort of plan."

"Good point." Dave admitted as he sat back down.

"Have fun getting deadified. I'm outta here." Sugar told them.

"We need a strategy before we start doin' anything." Leshawna told her team.

"If this is anything like the movie these tables should be bolted to the ground. Maybe that can help?" Harold suggested.

"Hey, where is that wave anyway?" Lindsay asked. "How will we know when it's here?"

A loud alarm siren sounded off throughout the ship.

"Well… That's probably not a good sign." Mike remarked.

"That's it! Lightning's getting outta here!" Lightning exclaimed.

Lightning got up and began running towards the doors to the ship kitchen.

"Same here." Scott decided as he stood up and began to run at a different set of doors.

Just then something hit the ship so hard that it started to learn towards the right.

"Yep! That'd be the wave!" Geoff exclaimed.

Lightning grabbed on to the handle of the door he was running at while Scott tripped over and fell through the doorway he was running at.

"My face!" Scott screamed.

Harold, Shawn, Jasmine, Zoey, and Sky all managed to grab on to their respective tables which stayed attached to the ground as Harold said earlier. The rest of the contestants all fell out of their chairs and slid across the floor.

"Not the hair!" Anne Maria exclaimed as she slid.

"Evil does not get pushed around!" Max shouted as he rolled around the room.

The boat capsized completely causing all those not clinging to a door or table to end up on the ceiling of the ballroom. After a few moments everything fell silent. Lightning and Scott continued to hold tightly to their doors on opposites sides of room while those on the tables clung for dear life. The competitors lying on the floor slowly rose up.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Zoey)**

"Well… If this show hasn't traumatized me enough now I have to deal with _that_." Zoey remarked.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Shawn)**

"Not to brag, but my survival training totally saved my hide from falling back there." Shawn told the audience.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Geoff)**

"Bro… I never wanna see the ocean again now." Geoff remarked. "Brod and Bridge aren't gonna be happy about that."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Beth)**

"If this is the first challenge, I'm not sure I'll be able to handle the rest of this season." Beth admitted.

* * *

"How are none of us dead?" Dave questioned.

"I made sure the initial wave wouldn't kill you." Chris' voice explained from an unseen source. "But now it's fair play. Anyone can die."

"Chris? Where are you?" Owen asked.

"There's a handy-dandy microphone on this machine that lets me speak to you without having to put myself in danger." Chris explained. "Anyway, good luck finding a way out. You're on your own now. Me and Chef will be watching and laughing. Cheers."

Chris' voice slowly faded away.

"All right, let's group up everyone." Jo instructed her team.

The Editors on the ground gathered around Jo.

"Do what they're doin'." Leshawna told her teammates.

Upon Leshawna's instructions, the grounded Writers went up to her.

The camera focused itself on Angry Editors.

"All right, first order of business is to get you three down from there." Jo told her three teammates. "Got it?"

"If someone can catch us that might work." Sky suggested.

"Yo, Jo, you want me to come down too?" Lightning asked.

"No, you stay up there." Jo instructed him. "Try and climb into whatever room you're in and find something useful."

Lightning nodded and pulled himself up into the galley.

"Uh, excuse me, Jo, who made you leader?" Mike asked.

"Hey, do you have any better ideas?" Jo replied with a question.

"Good point." Mike admitted.

"Short girl, let go now." Jo instructed Sky.

Sky removed her hands from the table and dropped down. She landed in Jo's arms.

"All right, I'll go next." Shawn told Jo.

Shawn dropped down from the table. He missed his intended target and landed on Geoff who barely caught him.

"You gotta work on your aim, bro." Geoff remarked.

"Heh, sorry." Shawn apologized.

"All right Mad Max, you're the only hard one to get down." Jo said to Jasmine. "Try not to crush me when you let go."

"I'm not that tall." Jasmine commented before letting go.

Jasmine landed on top of Jo, pinning her to the ground.

"You were saying…" Jo grumbled.

"Sorry." Jasmine apologized as she stood up.

"What do we do now?" Lindsay asked.

"Try and climb up to where Lightning went." Jo explained.

"Maybe we should wait for him to get back and preserve our energy?" Jasmine suggested.

"Look, I've been good this far, just trust me." Jo replied.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jasmine)**

"Hmmph, I'm not exactly sure if I'm a fan of Jo's style." Jasmine remarked. "She seems to be a bit hot under the collar. Arrogant too. I should keep an eye on 'er."

* * *

The camera panned to the Raving Writers on what was previously the ceiling.

"Harold, Zoey, we need ya to get down!" Leshawna shouted up to them.

"Are you sure it's safe to let go?" Zoey asked.

"There was a scene in the movie where a man fell from a table into a ceiling light and died." Harold remarked.

"Not helping!" Zoey shouted at him.

"Gosh, I'm sorry." Harold apologized.

"Don't worry, we'll catch you." Leshawna promised them.

Zoey and Harold both let go of the table. Harold fell into Leshawna's arms while Zoey landed on top of Dave.

"Oh my god, Dave, are you okay?" Zoey asked him.

"You're sitting on my spine… How do you think I feel?" Dave replied, sounding a little angry.

"Heh, so sorry." Zoey apologized as she stood up.

"Why thank you Leshawna." Harold said. "You've got very strong arms."

"That's nice, but we're kinda in a virtual shipwreck right now." Leshawna reminded him.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Harold)**

"I am still infatuated with Leshawna." Harold admitted. "It might work out this time. We've both had some time away from each other, it might work out."

* * *

"Do you think we should try and get Scott down too?" Owen asked.

"Dirt boy already left." Anne Maria replied, pointing up to the now empty doorway Scott was previously clinging too.

"Maybe he went to get help?" Owen optimistically suggested.

"He backstabbed literally his entire team the first time he was here." Zoey said. "I doubt he's coming back."

"Hey guys! I'm back!" Scott exclaimed from out of view. "I went looking for supplies."

"Huh… I stand corrected." Zoey remarked.

"How can we trust you?" Max asked.

"Does this fire hose I found answer that question?" Scott asked, holding a rolled up firehose.

"Yeehaw! Somethin' to use as a rope!" Sugar cheered.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Scott)**

"My first time here, I didn't think out my strategy." Scott admitted. "And it really came back to spit in my face. After that, I just got beat up… A lot. This time I've got a real strategy. I get in an alliance with someone easy to mess with and get them to eliminate the people I don't like. And of course I'll actually try to win this time."

* * *

Meanwhile, the Editors are standing below the doorway Lightning climbed through.

"I don't see any way to climb up." Beth remarked.

"Yeah Jane, are you sure this is a good idea?" Lindsay asked Jo.

"They're right, this wall is too smooth to scale." Shawn agreed.

"Look, Lightning's too thick to bee any use up there, we need to get out of here now." Jo told her team. "He's probably gotten himself killed by now anyway."

"Wassup guys!" Lightning announced his presence from above.

The rest of his team looked up to see him.

"There's a lotta meat in here." Lightning remarked as he took out a hamburger patty and bit into it.

"Ooh, do they have apple pie up there?" Lindsay asked.

"Lemme check." Lightning responded.

"Did you get anything to help us up?" Jasmine asked.

"Huh, oh yeah." Lightning replied, dropping the hamburger. "Lightning found some Christmas decorations."

Lightning pulled a box marked "Christmas" into view.

"How is that supposed to help us exactly?" Sky asked.

"And why does this ship have those?" Geoff asked

"The answer to both those is Lightning has no idea." Lightning admitted.

"I think this movie is supposed to take place on New Years Eve or something." Mike replied.

"Are there any lights you can throw down to us so we can climb up?" Jasmine asked.

"Uh huh." Lightning nodded.

Lightning took a large length of Christmas lights from the box and dangled them down.

"This whole plan is stupid." Jo said. "There's no way those lights can hold us."

"Look, this is Virtual Reality. It's probably not going to be that realistic." Jasmine told Jo.

"Can we please just stop arguing and do something?" Mike asked.

"I'll climb first since I'm probably the lightest." Sky offered. "Just to be safe."

"Fine, but when you virtually die, don't blame me." Jo told her.

Sky ignored her and began climbing up the Christmas lights. She reached the top where Lightning helped her up.

"Made it!" Sky cheered.

"Way to go!" Mike cheered her on.

"Fine, we'll try it your way." Jo told Jasmine.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jo)**

"Hmmph, Jasmine's not going to stick around forever." Jo remarked. "And once I get rid of her, I'll be in full control of this team."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Mike)**

"I'm not quite sure what to think of this team just yet." Mike admitted. "I have a feeling I'm not going to like having to spend time with Lightning and Jo."

* * *

Meanwhile, back with the Writers, Scott had lowered down the fire hose he found as a rope.

"All right guys, get up here." Scott instructed them.

"Evil goes first." Max proclaimed as he began to climb up.

"Oh great, the tater tot goes first." Anne Maria remarked. "That's just _fantastic_."

"I'm going next." Harold told the others. "I've seen this movie so I might able to help."

Harold stated to climb up the hose once Max was at the top.

"I want to go next." Zoey said.

"All right, just hurry." Leshawna told her. "We don't wanna take too long."

Zoey nodded and began climbing after Harold was up.

"I hope it ain't too hard to get outta here." Anne Maria remarked. "I don't wanna get too dirty."

"Oh, I did my makeup just right too." Sugar added.

"You two realize we're in a simulation, right?" Leshawna asked.

"Uh…. I knew that." Sugar replied. "Just testin' ya."

"Guys! I'm up!" Zoey cheered from the top of the rope.

"I'll go up now." Leshawna told the rest of her team.

Leshawna started the long climb up the hose.

"This is takin' too long." Anne Maria remarked. "I got a feeling somethin' bad's gonna happen."

"Don't worry, I'm sure it'll turn out just fine." Owen told her.

"Ya realize whenever someone says that the opposite always happens." Anne Maria replied.

"Pfft, this isn't a cartoon. Everything will be fine." Owen brushed her off. "Lighten up."

"All right, I made it! One of you get up here!" Leshawna called down to the remaining three.

Before any of them could do anything, large explosion went off, blowing a whole in the floor. The ballroom began to flood with water very quickly.

"What the hell's happening!" Anne Maria screamed.

"This happened in the movie too." Harold remarked.

"Quick! Start climbin'!" Sugar exclaimed.

Owen, Sugar, and Anne Maria clambered to grab on to the hose. Once they were all on they tried to climb simultaneously only to struggle and go nowhere.

"I don't wanna die like this!" Owen cried out in terror. "Someone pull us up!"

Scott began to pull on the hose to get them up but with little success.

"You're all too heavy." Scott panted as he pulled the makeshift rope.

"Take that back ya varmint!" Sugar shouted up to him.

"I don't think I'm that heavy." Owen remarked.

"Yeah, okay, this hair is basically just made of steel." Anne Maria admitted.

"Guys, this isn't worth it." Scott told the teammates behind him. "By the time I get them up we'll have all drowned. I'm dropping them."

"What!?" The rest of Scott's teammates exclaimed.

"H-hey, you're joking right?" Owen asked.

"Hey has to be… R-right?" Anne Maria nervously laughing.

"He ain't. I can tell." Sugar said.

"Scott, that's a bad idea." Leshawna told him.

"Too late." Scott replied before letting go of the hose.

Owen, Sugar, and Anne Maria fell from the hose and screamed as they met their watery, but virtual, grave.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Scott)**

"Well… Getting rid of a quarter of my team right off the bat probably isn't helping my cause." Scott remarked.

* * *

Over on the Editors, all of them have managed to climb into the ships kitchen.

"Come on, let's keep moving." Shawn instructed the team. "We only have so long before that water reaches here."

The Editors began walking through the upside down kitchen.

"Heh, none of you guys will let me die like the other team did those three back there, right?" Beth nervously asked her team.

"Of course we won't." Sky told her.

"It depends." Jo remarked.

Everyone gave her a strange look.

"What? If it my life or hers I'm choosing mine. Besides, this isn't even real." Jo argued.

"Look, let's talk about this stuff later and keep walking." Jasmine told her teammates. "Arright?"

"Keep an eye out for any hot steam." Lightning advised his team. "Lightning found that out the hard way."

"So where do we go now?" Geoff asked.

"Well, if we're upside down like Chris said we are right now. The best plan of action is to head upwards to the bottom of the ship." Jasmine suggested.

"And how exactly do you think we do that?" Jo asked. "Stairs and elevator are kinda out of the question."

"Not exactly. What if we tried to find a way to climb up through the elevator?" Sky suggested. "That might work."

"Wow, Skyler, that's a great idea." Lindsay replied.

"I don't even feel like correcting that." Sky said.

"That sounds kinda dangerous." Mike remarked. "Are you sure it's a good idea?"

"It's better than just waiting down here for the water in the dining room to reach us." Sky argued.

"Sky, I actually agree with you." Jo admitted. "Come on, let's find an elevator."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sky)**

"I really like my new team." Sky told the camera. "Most of the people there seem pretty nice. I can even kinda respect Jo as a fellow athlete. Lightning's a bit annoying but other than that it's all right."

* * *

Meanwhile, back in the real world, Owen, Anne Maria, and Sugar had just come out of the simulation and were sitting on a bench in the warehouse.

"I can't believe it. That punk just dropped us." Anne Maria angrily said.

"I oughta pound his face is!" Sugar shouted.

"Yeah, that was pretty bad." Owen admitted.

Chris and Chef walked up to the three Writers.

"Well, you were the first three out of the challenge. Tell me, how does dying feel?" Chris asked.

"Pretty scary." Owen replied.

"That dirty no good Scott's gonna get a beatdown once he's outta there." Anne Maria said "That's for sure."

"That's nice." Chris remarked, clearly not caring. "Well, I've gotta see how the others are doing. Bye."

"Why'd he drop me?" Sugar wondered. "I'd have been good at this challenge."

"No offence tootsie, but ya ain't exactly lookin' all that tough." Anne Maria told her.

"I got ta third place last time. What'd you do?" Sugar asked her.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Anne Maria)**

"I'll admit it, I got a weird begrudging respect for Sugar." Anne Maria confessed. "She's almost as big a diva as me. But with that said, here makeup needs _loads_ of work."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sugar)**

"I ain't quite sure what to make of that Annie Maritza or whatever her name is." Sugar remarked. "I gots to keep an eye on her."

* * *

Back inside the simulation, the Writers continued through the hallway Scott led them into.

"I still can't believe you let those guys die." Zoey said to Scott. "Even for you that's messed up."

"Look, I didn't want to do it, really." Scott insisted. "I just did what would be better for the rest of us. Even if it didn't flood down there I don't think Owen would've been able to climb anyway."

"Hmmph, we shouldn't be mourning the not-even-real deaths of those three imbeciles." Max said. "We should be out plotting how to get out of this sinking metal death trap."

"I agree with you on the second part of that sentence." Leshawna remarked. "Anyone got any ideas on an escape route?"

"Well, in the movie our protagonists found the way out through the propeller shaft." Harold explained. "We can try and emulate that."

"Why not." Dave replied. "What's the worst that could happen."

"Quite a few things actually." Harold explained. "In the movie one of the characters died while attempting it."

"Bah! You just ruined the movie." Max scolded to Harold.

"Like you were going to see it." Harold said.

"Fair enough." Max admitted.

"So should we look for an air vent to crawl through or not?" Scott asked.

"It's the only suggestion we've had so far." Leshawna replied. "What else can we do?"

"Good point." Scott admitted. "Fine, let's find that air vent."

Meanwhile, back with the Angry Editors, the team had exited the galley and were walking through the hallways.

"See anything elevators?" Mike asked.

"Are you sure climbing through an elevator is safe?" Lightning asked.

"Stop complaining. We need to find a way to get out." Jo told him.

"Hey, how long until we find an elevator?" Lindsay question.

"I dunno. I don't exactly have a map of this place." Jasmine replied. "We'll just have to keep wandering until we find it."

"That doesn't really sound like a good strategy." Geoff pointed out.

"Look, none of use have been here before, so it's probably the best plan." Jasmine reasoned.

"Makes sense I guess." Geoff replied.

"Hey, I think I see one." Shawn pointed to an elevator at the end of the hall.

The team quickly ran up to the elevator.

"Uh… So what do we do now?" Mike asked. "How do we get the door open?"

"I did not think that out." Sky admitted.

"We should find a crowbar." Shawn suggested. "That could work?"

"How are we just gonna find a crowbar?" Beth asked.

"Yeah, they don't exactly grow on trees." Mike added.

"If they did that'd make things like, way more convenient." Lindsay remarked.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Jo asked.

"I'm not sure." Lindsay replied. "I sorta lost my train of thought. Whopsie."

"Lightning'll go look for a crowbar." Lightning told his team. "It'll take five minutes. Tops."

"Want someone to go with you?" Jasmine asked.

"Sorry gigantic woman, Lightning strikes solo." Lightning proclaimed before a short pause. "Ya see what Lightning did there? Lightning just said "Lightning strikes" 'cause-"

"We got the joke." Jo interrupted.

"What joke?" Lindsay asked.

"Whatever. See ya later." Lightning told his team before running off.

"Okay, while he's gone let's try and open the elevator on our own if he can't find a crowbar." Jasmine instructed the others.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Lightning)**

"Not to brag or anything, but everything was up to Lightning back there." Lightning said.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Writers are walking through the upside down halls of the ship looking for an air vent.

"So how much longer do we have until the water from the ballroom gets to us?" Zoey asked.

"It probably should have reached us by now actually." Harold remarked. "But this is virtual so it's not entirely realistic."

"Chris is probably keeping us alive just to make things more interesting for the viewers." Scott theorized.

"Hopefully we find a way out soon." Dave commented.

They continued through the halls for a few more moments.

"Hang on, I see something." Harold told the others, causing the team to stop in their tracks. "Look there."

He pointed to an air vent on the wall that looked large enough for everyone to crawl through.

"Haha! Finally! Evil was feeling cramped." Max said.

"I'll get the grate off." Scott told the others. "Someone help me."

Scott and Dave went over the air vent and started to pull on the grate.

"These screws are loose." Dave remarked as he pulled. "It must have happened when we capsized."

The two of them pulled hard on the grate causing it to come off. They put the grate down on the ground.

"All right, let's get in there." Leshawna instructed the others. "Harold, you're the skinniest. Get in first."

Harold nodded and crawled into the spacious air vent.

"If this was realistic we probably wouldn't be able to fit in here." Harold commented.

"I would like to go next." Max requested. "That way if the large one gets stuck I'll be safe."

"Am I the large one?" Leshawna asked, sounding offended.

"Uh… Maybe." Max replied before ducking into the air vent.

Leshawna disapprovingly shook her head at him.

"Little purple haired fool." Leshawna remarked to herself before looking at her team. "Who's next?"

"I'd like to go." Zoey replied before crawling into the vent.

"Hey, I don't wanna be going in last." Scott added before crawling in with her.

Dave and Leshawna both looked at the open vent.

"After you." Dave told her, gesturing to the opening.

"Thanks." Leshawna replied.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Dave)**

"I regret some of the things I did last season." Dave admitted. "I may have overreacted just a _little_. I still don't forgive Sky though. But hopefully if I help my new team enough they'll like me."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Leshawna)**

"I'm not really sure who the leader of this team is." Leshawna admitted. "Personally, don't want it to be me. That might make me look like a threat."

* * *

Leshawna began crawling into the vent only to stop halfway in.

"Uh oh… We might have a problem." Leshawna said from the inside. "I'm a little stuck."

"Don't worry, I'll help." Dave told her.

Dave started pushing Leshawna to get her in.

"Is this working?" Dave asked.

"Think so." Leshawna replied. "Scott's pulling my arms too."

Dave continued to push until he heard something odd. He looked over and saw water starting come up the hallway.

"Oh no… This isn't good. " Dave remarked.

"What's not good?" Leshawna asked, still lodged in the vent.

"N-nothing, don't panic." Dave told her. "Let's just get through this."

He pushed Leshawna and managed to get her inside the vent. Once she was completely in he crawled into the opening.

"Let's move! The water's coming!" Dave exclaimed.

"What?!" The rest of the team shouted in shock.

"No time to lay around, let's go." Harold told the others.

The Raving Writers began crawling through the vent quickly.

Meanwhile, the Angry Editors were waiting by the elevator for Lightning to get back. Jasmine and Jo were attempting to work together and force the door to the elevator open with their hands.

"Have we gotten anywhere?" Jo asked.

"I don't think so." Jasmine replied.

"Guys, just save your energy for when Lightning comes back." Shawn instructed.

"He's been gone for too long. He's probably gotten himself killed by now." Jo told Shawn.

"He pulled through the first time." Mike pointed out. "Maybe he's okay."

"Yeah, Thunder's all right." Lindsay remarked.

"Lightning." Beth corrected her.

"What kind of name is that?" Lindsay asked.

"Are you guys gonna help?" Jo asked them.

"Chill, Lightning's gonna come back." Geoff told her.

"Yeah, Shawn's right. We should save out energy for something important." Mike added.

"Guess who's back!" Lightning exclaimed as he ran up to his team, wielding a crowbar in his hand. "Lightning got the crowbar. Ya might wanna hurry. Lightning saw some water comin' at us."

"I'll be sure to remember that." Jasmine told him as she took the crowbar.

She took the crowbar and used all her might to try and pry the door opened with it. Eventually, the door opened. On the other side of the elevator doors revealed that the elevator had fallen completely to the bottom of the shaft.

"So… How do we get up from here?" Mike asked.

"Don't worry, Lightning grabbed rope too." Lightning told him as he took out a rope from behind his back.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Lightning)**

"Lightning ain't smart, but he's strong." Lightning said. "The plan here is to help my team so they think I'm useful. Then when the merge rolls around I win all the challenges every."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Shawn)**

"That Lightning guy may come in handy in a survival situation… But he's also annoying." Shawn admitted. "Very, _very_ , annoying."

* * *

Jasmine grabbed to rope and tossed it up into the shaft. The rope wrapped around an I Beam near an opened door a few floors above.

"Everyone up." Jasmine instructed. "Sky, go first because you're small."

Sky nodded and jumped over to the rope on the other side of the elevator shaft. She grabbed the rope and began climbing. Once she was at the top of the I Beam she tied the rope into a proper knot.

"I have to make that jump?" Beth asked.

"I'm sure you can make it." Geoff encouraged her. "There's like a good forty percent chance."

"Thanks I think." Beth replied. "Okay, here I go."

Beth took a few steps back and ran at the elevator shaft. She barely managed to grab the rope and began to climb up.

"C'mon people, let's hurry." Shawn ordered. "This isn't how I pictured myself dying."

The scene faded ahead to later with Jo and Mike being the last two crawling up the rope together.

"Oh god… This isn't going to end well." Mike muttered to himself.

"Relax, the other got up fine." Jo told him.

"Yeah, but things are slightly different now." Mike replied. "For one…"

The camera zoomed out to reveal that the hallway they were in started flooding and pouring into the elevator shaft below them.

" _This place is flooding!_ "

"If aren't such a drama queen, we can make it out just fine and dandy." Jo told him. "Now come on."

The two of them kept climbing up the rope.

"Almost there…" Jo muttered to herself.

Suddenly, an explosion went off somewhere else in the ship causing Mike and Jo to be thrown from the rope. Jo managed to grab on to the floor edge of the elevator floor with her left hand and Mike held on to the wrist of Jo's free hand.

"What the hell just happened!" Mike screamed.

"I dunno, I guess there's a lotta machines in here that don't like water." Geoff replied.

"Or Chris just wanted to mess with us." Sky added.

"Those both makes sense." Lindsay remarked.

"Someone pull me up!" Jo exclaimed.

"Give me your hand." Shawn told her, leaning down and extending his hand.

"I can't as long as this idiot's holding me!" Jo shouted up to him, looking at Mike.

"I'm sorry! This is all I can to do if I don't want to fall!" Mike apologized.

"Mike, I'm probably going to regret what I'm about to do, but I need to shake you off." Jo told him.

"What?!" Mike exclaimed.

"Only one of us can survive this and I'd prefer it to be me." Jo tried to reason. "Sorry. Really mean it."

Jo began shaking her right arm in an attempt to lose Mike.

"Please don't do this!" Mike screamed.

"It's the only way." Jo told him.

"Is it really?!" Mike asked, sounding panicked.

Jo nodded.

"Well, I won't let you do this." Mike told her.

Mike used his free hand and grabbed on to Jo's hoodie and pulled on her.

"What are you doing!?" Jo angrily asked.

"I'm trying to find another spot to grab on to so I can pull myself up." Mike explained.

"You idiot! You'll pull us both down!" Jo shouted.

The two of them struggled with each other. Jo lost her grip after struggling for a bit causing her and Mike to fall down the elevator shaft.

"This is your fault!" Jo shouted at Mike as they fell.

"You were about to kill me! What was I supposed to do!" Mike defended himself as they continued to fall.

They both fell completely down the shaft to their virtual deaths.

"Oh my god… Josie and Mark are dead…" Lindsay trailed off.

"Hold me Lindsay." Beth told Lindsay as the two girls hugged.

"Uh… Let's keep moving." Sky instructed the team. "It'll be all right."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Mike)**

"Yeah… I didn't really plan out what happened back there too well." Mike admitted.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sky)**

"So, climbing through the elevator didn't go as I planned." Sky said. "But hey, it could've gone worse… Probably."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jo)**

"Well, my team is basically dead without me." Jo remarked. "That's not me being egotistical. They have to deal with Lightning and Lindsay. They're out of luck."

* * *

Back in the real world, the helmet visors on Mike and Jo's chairs flipped up, taking them out of the virtual world.

"Wow… That got intense." Mike remarked.

"Haha! We ain't the only dead ones!" Sugar cheered from over on the bench with her other teammates.

"Shut up you blubbery buffoonish blonde!" Jo shouted at her.

"Nice alliteration." Chris remarked.

"Heh… Jo, again, I'm real sorry." Mike apologized. "It's just I really didn't wanna die back there and I panicked."

"Well jokes on you, you still died." Jo told him as she got up from her chair.

Meanwhile, back in the virtual world, the Writers were crawling upwards through one of the vents now.

"Harold, are you sure this is the right way?" Zoey asked.

"Yeah it's feeling a bit cramped up in here." Leshawna added.

"We have to keep moving." Harold told them. "We don't want the water to catch up with us."

"I'm not sure how much longer I can hold myself up." Max commented.

"At least you have people to catch you. I'm on my own here in the very back." Dave told Max.

"Hmmph, weakling." Max remarked.

"Can you please stop talking you purple haired little freak?" Scott angrily asked Max. "I'm in a bad enough room as it is."

"Why should I listen to you, team-killer?" Max asked.

"This is it, I'm going to die right below two of the biggest idiots I've ever met." Zoey remarked. "Oh… No offence."

"Offence taken." Max told her.

"That's fair." Zoey admitted.

"Seriously Harold, how much longer do I have to climb. This is getting stressful?" Dave asked.

"How am I supposed to know?" Harold replied. "Gosh."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Harold)**

"My vast knowledge of movies will be very handy in these challenges." Harold said to the audience. "For once, the nerds have an advantage over the jocks."

* * *

Harold reached the very top of the shaft where they found a small metal door that looked like you had to crawl through it. He opened up the door to reveal a large smooth metal tubular area with only at ladder going up. At the bottom of this shaft was a large amount of bubbling water.

"Well, I guess it's up from here." Harold commented.

"Even more climbing?" Zoey asked, sounding tired. "I thought that was done."

"Don't worry, there's a ladder." Harold told her.

Harold climbed out through the opening and stepped on to the ladder before he began climbing. The other eventually all followed suit and were climbing up towards the top of this passage.

"Oh god… This isn't going to end well." Dave remarked as he looked down at the hot water below.

"Ooh, looks like someone's scared of a little water." Max taunted him.

"Shut up. You look like one of those caricatures I see guys at the boardwalk drawing." Dave told Max.

"Can we please quit arguing and just keep climbing?" Scott asked.

"I actually agree with you." Leshawna remarked. "This ladder is slippery and I don't wanna fall."

"Oh please, what are the chances of that?" Max asked.

"Somewhat likely actually." Harold told him. "In fact there was a scene in the movie sort of like this where-"

Harold was cut off when an explosion went of elsewhere in the ship, shaking up the contestants on the ladder. Most of the Writers held on, but Max lost his grip on the ladder and fell all the way down into the water below.

"Where that happened…" Harold finished.

"Is he okay?" Zoey asked.

"He could be okay." Dave said.

Another explosion went off, this time causing a jet of water to shoot up from below.

"Never mind… He is definitely dead now." Dave remarked.

"C'mon guys, we need to keep climbing before anyone else falls down." Leshawna told the rest of her team.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Max)**

"Unbelievable!" Max exclaimed. "What an undignified way for evil to die! I shall get back at them for this!"

* * *

Elsewhere in the ship, the Angry Editors were following Jasmine through the corridors of the ship.

"Where are we going exactly?" Lindsay asked. "I'm a little confused."

"We're headed to the engine room." Jasmine explained. "I figure if we're upside down, that's the best way out."

"Makes sense." Shawn remarked.

"Shouldn't the engine place be all exploded and stuff?" Lightning asked.

"It's our only choice at this point." Jasmine told him. "We've already moved up a few decks."

"I guess you got point." Geoff commented.

"Hey, you're all gonna make sure we don't lose anybody else, right?" Beth asked.

"We can't promise anything but we'll try." Sky told her.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Beth)**

"I'm almost twenty and I still feel like the weak link of the team." Beth admitted. "I've always been pretty average. I wanna try and turn it around, but with how hard this first challenge is I'm not liking my chances."

* * *

The Editors found the end to the hallway where a small square door was in the ceiling.

"Aha, that's our way out." Jasmine told the team.

"How are you sure?" Geoff asked.

"Uh, I'm not." Jasmine admitted. "It's just a hunch. I'll go first to see if there's anything dangerous."

Jasmine pulled open the door and revealed an upside down ladder on the other side.

"All right, here I go." Jasmine said.

She climbed up into the hole above her.

"You think Jessie will be okay?" Lindsay asked.

"She's faced worse. I'm sure this will be just fine." Shawn replied.

"What do you think the rest of these challenges are gonna be like?" Geoff asked.

"Probably like this, but harder." Sky answered.

"Man, that does not sound fun." Lightning remarked.

Jasmine stuck her head back down through the hole.

"C'mon, up everybody. It's safe… Ish." Jasmine told her team. "Be careful, there's a whole lotta fire… Water too. Just be careful of everything."

"Well… That's a little foreboding." Shawn commented.

The Editors climbed up into the room above them. They found themselves in the corridor before reaching the engine room. Most of the room had flooded but the water was not rising. There were several small fires in the room.

"Uh, this looks like a dead end to Lightning." Lightning remarked.

"See that sign?" Jasmine asked, pointing to an upside down sign on the wall. "It says engine room."

"Uh, not to be downer, but how do we get past all of that water?" Beth asked.

"Yeah, I was wondering that too." Lindsay added. "What am I 'sposed to do here?"

"There's a door underwater and we'll have to swim through it." Jasmine explained.

"Doesn't sound too hard to Lightning." Lightning commented.

"Anyone not a strong swimmer?" Jasmine asked.

Nobody responded to her.

"Arright, I'm taking that as a no." Jasmine remarked. "I'll swim first. Shawn, you go last and make sure nothing bad 'appens to anybody."

"You got it." Shawn replied.

Jasmine took a deep breath before jumping down into the water beneath her. Sky quickly joined her below the water.

"Yo! Don't get this started without Lightning!" Lightning exclaimed as he jumped into the water himself.

"Woohoo!" Geoff cheered as he cannonballed into the water.

"That probably wasn't a good idea." Shawn remarked.

"Do I really have to swim?" Beth asked. "Maybe there's some other way around this?"

"Yeah, what she said." Lindsay agreed. "I don't wanna ruin my hair anymore than I already have."

"It's virtual, you'll look fine in the real world." Shawn reminded her.

"Oh, okay." Lindsay replied. "That's not so bad. Here I go."

Lindsay breathed in and jumped down into the water.

"Ooh, wait for me!" Beth exclaimed before jumping in.

"Well, that's everyone." Shawn said.

Shawn took a deep breath in and jumped down into the water where the others on his team were already swimming through the submerged doorway.

The camera focused on Beth and Lindsay swimming next to each other. They swam all the way through the door. Beth brushed by a loose sheet of metal that was beneath the water and it came loose, falling on top of her. She struggled to remove the sheet metal from her but with no success. Lindsay went over to Beth and attempted to pull her out but was unable. Jasmine swam up to Beth and lifted the metal sheet. Beth quickly swam upwards as soon as she was free.

"Oh god!" Beth cough as she surfaced.

Beth coughed up some water. The rest of the Editors made it to the surface.

"Are you gonna be okay?" Sky asked better.

"I think so…" Beth replied, sounding dazed. "Not really sure."

"Let's get to somewhere dry. Lightning ain't liking it here." Lightning remarked.

The team crawled up on to a floating piece of metal and looked around. They found themselves in the upside down wreck of what was left of the engine room.

"Yes! We're so close!" Shawn cheered.

The scene changed to the real world where the "Dead" contestants were sitting on a bench in the warehouse together.

"Aw… I'm so bored." Sugar whined. "Ain't there anything to do up in here?"

"Zip it Blondie!" Jo shouted at her. "Don't make me come over there!"

"Can everyone please just stop talking?" Mike asked.

"You be quiet too." Jo told Mike. "I should be in that game right now. Not out here with you."

"I said I'm sorry." Mike said.

"That's not good enough. I'm still trying to get over the fact that this Flying-Purple-People-Eater lasted longer than me." Jo pointed at Max with an angry look in her eyes.

"Hmmm… Flying-Purple-People-Eater, eh. Sounds intimidating." Max remarked.

"It really ain't." Anne Maria told him. "I can think of 'bout ten things scarier than that."

"Sounds pretty scary to me." Owen commented.

"Thank you very much." Max replied.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Max)**

"I need a sidekick this season. Someone who can pose a threat but won't be too competent for their own good." Max told the audience. "I think Owen may fit the bill."

* * *

Back inside the simulation, the Raving Writers were moving through another hallway.

"It's way too quiet down here." Zoey remarked.

"That probably has something to do with losing Max." Scott joked.

"Yeah, I'm probably not going to miss him for the rest of this challenge." Dave admitted.

"Oh c'mon, he's not that." Zoey optimistically said.

"Nah, he was pretty bad." Leshawna remarked.

"Very." Harold agreed.

"Yeah, okay, he was pretty annoying." Zoey admitted. "Let's just try and make sure we don't lose anybody else. Okay?"

"Promises like that are hard to keep." Scott told her. "Especially when we're on a sinking ship."

The group came to a doorway.

"All right everyone, this way." Harold instructed, gesturing to the door way.

Harold pushed on the door but nothing happened.

"Hmm... Looks like the door's stuck." Harold remarked.

"It's a pull door." Scott pointed out.

"Oh, I was just testing you." Harold told him.

"Sure you were." Scott replied, rolling his eyes in disbelief.

Harold pulled open the door to reveal a partially collapsed upside down metal staircase leading into the same flaming engine room the other team entered.

"Let's roll." Leshawna said to her team.

The Writers walked down the staircase where they saw the Editors crawling out of the water.

"Oh hey guys." Lindsay greeted the other team, waving. "You made it here too."

"Are you missing a few people?" Zoey asked the other team.

"Not as many as you." Sky pointed out.

"Well, since we're all the way 'ere at the end. I just wanna say, may the best team win." Jasmine told the opposing team.

"You too." Leshawna replied.

The Editors climbed down their unstable staircase on to an equally unstable catwalk that led towards the propeller shaft. The Writers quickly followed, climbing up on to the catwalk.

"Not so fast, you're not gonna get the best of Lightning so easily." Lightning told the other team.

"What are you gonna do, fight us?" Scott asked

"Maybe." Lightning replied.

"Wait, what?" Geoff asked. "I didn't know that."

An explosion went off nearby, shaking up the whole room. The catwalk shook and Lindsay fell off into the fiery wreckage in the water below.

"Don't worry girl! Lightning'll save ya!" Lightning exclaimed.

"Wait, Lightning, no!" Sky exclaimed.

Lightning ignored her and jumped into the wreckage below to his doom.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Lightning)**

"That could've gone better." Lightning admitted.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Chris)**

"Sometimes, I liked to set off explosions in the simulation whenever things got boring." Chris admitted.

* * *

The teams turned back to the path to the exit only to realize that a pipe had burst and hot steam was blocking their exit.

"Oh come on!" Dave angrily exclaimed. "After everything we're being stopped by steam!"

"This is just like in the movie." Harold remarked. "Someone has to turn that valve to shut off the steam. Be warned, you're going to have to jump."

Harold pointed to a valve on the pipe the steam was shooting out of.

"Heh… Who wants to do it?" Beth asked.

"We should send someone athletic." Zoey suggested.

"Well yeah, that's obvious." Leshawna said.

"Should I go?" Jasmine asked.

"I could do it instead." Sky offered. "I'm very nimble."

"There's no time to debate. I'm going down there right now." Scott proclaimed.

"Are you really the best option?" Harold asked. "It seems like-"

"No time to argue!" Scott cut Harold off.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Scott)**

"I figured, if I made some kind of a big heroic move, that'd make up for dropping those three guys back at the beginning." Scott explained.

* * *

"Here I go!" Scott exclaimed.

"I really think I should go instead." Jasmine told him.

"Can't hear you." Scott replied.

Scott took few steps back and began running. He took a jump straight through the steam and grabbed on to the valve on the pipe.

"Ah! This feels so weird!" Scott screamed.

"I thought Chris said you couldn't feel pain." Zoey pointed out.

"I'm not in pain. I just feel weirdly numb." Scott exclaimed.

"Turn the valve!" Harold shouted up to him.

"I'll try." Scott replied.

Scott began very slowly turning the valve as he dangled above the water. Eventually, the steam was turned off completely.

"Now swing back to us." Harold instructed.

"I'll try, I still feel pretty numb." Scott remarked.

He started swinging back and forth before letting go of the valve. Scott landed on the unstable catwalk. However, his sudden landing caused it to start shaking.

"Whoa, that can't be good." Geoff remarked.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Scott)**

"Y'know, I probably should've thought about how I was going to _get down_ from that valve." Scott admitted.

* * *

The entire upside down catwalk collapsed. Leshawna and Zoey managed to jump up on to an area of the catwalk that didn't collapse and Sky grabbed on to the area with one hand. All the other contestants fell down into the fiery metal and water below to their virtual deaths.

"Oh my god!" Zoey exclaimed. "What is wrong with Chris?! Why did he make a challenge like this?"

"C'mon, they're not really dead. We can still finish this challenge." Leshawna told Zoey.

The two of them got to their feet and ran into the propeller shaft.

Once they were gone, Sky managed to pull herself up on to the catwalk.

"It's not over. I can still make it." Sky motivated herself.

The scene changed to Leshawna and Zoey inside the propeller shaft.

"It seems like a dead end in here. What do we do?" Zoey asked.

"I don't know. I never saw this movie." Leshawna replied. "Harold'd be the one who'd know."

"Let's just try banging on the walls." Zoey suggested.

Zoey began to hit the hull metal walls.

"What good is that?" Leshawna asked.

"I don't know." Zoey admitted. "But I'm desperate, and I think everyone else is dead."

"Not everyone." Sky replied from out of view.

Zoey and Leshawna looked behind them and saw Sky.

"Hey, where's the exit?" Sky asked.

"We don't know." Leshawna replied. "What exactly is your plan from here?"

"I don't know." Sky admitted. "I figured I'd just improvise. Sorry in advance."

"Sorry about what?" Zoey asked.

Sky charged at Zoey and tackled her to the floor.

"This is your plan!" Zoey exclaimed, struggling to get up.

"I don't know what I'm doing!" Sky admitted, trying to keep Zoey down.

"Hmm, not what I was expecting." Leshawna remarked. "I should probably help."

"Pretty please." Zoey told Leshawna.

Just then, the flame of a welding torch came through the other side of the metal of the ship. This caused Zoey and Sky to pause their struggle.

"What the heck is that?" Sky asked.

A circle was cut out through the hull and the metal from the hull fell down. On the other side of the hole were two rescue workers.

"You there, take my hand." The rescue worker instructed them.

Sky quickly stood up and began to reach up for the worker. Leshawna was quicker however and grabbed onto the hand of the rescue worker. Once they grabbed hands the three remaining contestants were engulfed in a blue light.

Back in the real world, the "Dead" contestants were waiting for the game to end with the hosts. Sky, Zoey, and Leshawna's helmet visors lifted up.

"Is that it, it's over?" Zoey asked.

The three sitting contestants stood up.

"Who won?" Sky asked.

"Leshawna was the first to grab the rescue workers hand, so her team, the Raving Writers win!" Chris announced.

"Ugh… Figures." Jo muttered.

"Teams, report to the film lot cafeteria for dinner." Chris instructed them. "And Editors, see you at the elimination ceremony tonight."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Anne Maria)**

"I'm pretty surprised we won actually." Anne Maria admitted. "We had a _really_ weak start."

* * *

The camera cut to later with the contestants lined up the cafeteria, waiting for Chef to serve them food. Leshawna approached the front of the line.

"So Chef, what'd you cook today?" Leshawna asked.

Chef silently placed a blob of reddish slop on her tray.

"Hmm… Shoulda known." Leshawna remarked.

"Man, I missed doin' this." Chef commented.

"I sure didn't." Leshawna said.

The scene switched to both teams, each sitting at a table with their food. The camera focused on the Raving Writers.

"So… What is in this food?" Dave asked, poking his food with a fork.

"I'm too afraid to ask." Anne Maria remarked.

"Hey, if you don't want it I'll be happy to take it." Owen told them.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Dave)**

"Despite how cheap some of that food was, I'm real glad I got those sponsored meals back in my first season." Dave told the audience. "Especially with whatever Chef's cooking."

* * *

"Whadda ya think the rest of these challenges will be like?" Sugar asked. "Sure hope it gets easier from here."

"Trust me, as long as you have the power of evil on your side, you can't lose." Max replied.

"I actually agree… If you replace "Evil" with "Teamwork" that is." Zoey said. "I think we can have a good winning streak."

"Long as _Scott_ doesn't kill any more of us." Anne Maria angrily added.

"Oh come on, I made up for it didn't I?" Scott replied. "We won."

"I still don't exactly 'ppreciate bein' dropped." Anne Maria told him.

"You three don't even add that much to our team. If anything, we were better off without you guys." Scott said.

"Take it back! Take it back right now!" Sugar shouted at him.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Scott)**

"I need to learn when to keep my mouth shut." Scott remarked.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sugar)**

"That Scott feller is gonna pay for what he said 'bout me." Sugar told the audience. "Nobody calls me useless."

* * *

The camera focused on the Angry Editors table.

"Heh, so… We lost… Bummer." Geoff remarked, sounding uncomfortable.

"Some leader you turned out to be." Jo grumbled, glaring at Jasmine.

"Look, I wasn't expecting the floor to collapse." Jasmine defended herself. "Besides, I'm not sure you'd have done any better."

"If Mr. Mullet here didn't get me killed we'd be the ones celebrating our win." Jo said, pointing to Mike.

"Hey!" Mike exclaimed. "Number one, you were threatening to drop me. What did you expect to happen? And number two, mullets are stylish."

"So… I hate to be that guy. But who do you think is gonna get eliminated?" Shawn asked.

"I hate to be that guy either, but probably some of this team's dead weight." Jo replied.

"Heh… I wouldn't happen to be dead weight, would I?" Beth asked.

"What do you think?" Jo responded.

"I'm taking that as a yes." Beth said.

"Aw, Beth's not useless. She's super smart and cute." Lindsay remarked.

"Maybe we should vote for Lightning." Beth suggested. "He just jumped straight down into the water."

"Hey! Lightning was just trying to save dumb girl!" Lightning defended himself.

"Am I dumb girl?" Lindsay asked.

"Look, if we keep discussing this openly, it'll just drive our team apart." Mike told the team. "Let's just forget about it."

"Ugh, you sound like my dad." Jo remarked.

"Mike does 'ave a point." Jasmine said. "Let's all just keep to ourselves 'til it's voting time."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jo)**

"Probably should've kept my anger under control a bit more." Jo admitted. "I basically just painted a big red bullseye on my back just then."

* * *

The scene changed to later at night with the members of the Editors in the audience around the stage from season two. Chris stepped up on stage wearing a suit.

"Welcome to the Gilded Chris ceremony!" Chris announced to the team. "Man, I Missed doing this. Mostly 'cause I get to hand out small golden replicas of myself. Who here's excited for voting?"

"Uh, nobody really." Jasmine replied.

"Too bad. Get into the makeup room and cross out some pictures." Chris instructed. "I don't have enough money in the budget for those electronic voting thingies from last time at the film lot. That virtual reality thing was , let's go people!"

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Beth)**

Beth drew an X over a photograph of Jo and held it to the camera.

"Look, I feel very intimidated by you." Beth admitted. "And I kinda want you gone. Sorry. No offence."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Lightning)**

"Look, Lightning ain't sure 'bout who to vote for." Lightning admitted. "Jo's kinda a jerk. But he's also a pretty good athlete. Lightning can't say the same for Beth and Lindsay… But they're both kinda hot… Mostly Lindsay. Shawn, Sky, and Jasmine look like they know what they're doin' too. Hmm… That only leaves two. Who to choose?"

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Jo)**

Jo held up a crossed out picture of Mike to the camera.

"I don't care if I'm being petty at this point." Jo told the audience. "I want this guy gone. He isn't even that useful anyway."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Shawn)**

Shawn showed a photo of Lindsay with an X over it to the camera.

"Look, I feel bad about this. But you're not that smart." Shawn said. "At least Lightning's strong."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Sky)**

Sky crossed out a picture of Mike and turned it to the camera.

"Mike, I'm sorry." Sky apologized. "But… Jo's at least good at challenges. I just don't think I got to know you very well either."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Geoff)**

"All right, so I narrowed it down to two." Geoff explained to the audience. "Either Jo 'cause she's kinda pushy. Or Beth 'cause she doesn't seem like she'll be too good at these challenges. Hmm… Lemme think some more."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Mike)**

Mike showed a picture of Jo to the camera.

"Seek anger management." Mike advised Jo.

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Jasmine)**

Jasmine held up a photograph of Jo with an X on it to the camera.

"You've got a long way to go if you wanna be a real leader, mate." Jasmine remarked.

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Lindsay)**

"Hmmm… I don't know who to vote for." Lindsay admitted. "My team seems all right so far. Joseph and Mark don't seem to like each other. Maybe I should vote for one of them? But I don't know which…"

* * *

The scene faded to after the voting with Chris standing on the podium at the stage.

"So, first elimination." Chris remarked. "Pretty exciting?"

"Just get on with it." Jo told him.

"Right, right." Chris replied. "Chef will be presenting you with several Gilded Chris Awards.

Chef wearing a suit walked up to Chris holding a bunch of golden replicas of the host on a tray.

"Man, this suit's all tight." Chef commented.

"Just be glad we aren't making you wear a dress again." Chris replied. "Now, the following contestants get awards: Lightning, Shawn, Jasmine, Sky, and Geoff."

Chef threw Gilded Chris Award to the named contestants.

"Lindsay, Beth, Mike, and Jo. Only one of you will continue to compete." Chris told them. "These next two awards go two…"

…

…

…

…

…

…

"… Beth and Lindsay!"

Chef tossed two more Gilded Chris' to the two girls.

"Yay! I'm still in!" Lindsay cheered.

"Phew, I was worried." Beth remarked.

"Jo, Mike, as you can see, there is only one award left." Chris told the remaining contestants. "Whoever does not receive an award will take the Walk of Shame and ride the Lame-O-Sine away from here."

"Couldn't think of any more goofy themed means of elimination?" Jo asked.

"Shut up. Your head's on the chopping block right now." Chris told her. "Anyway, the final award of the night goes to…"

…

…

…

…

…

…

"… Jo!"

Chef threw the very last Gilded Chris Award to Jo.

"Huh, was not expecting that." Jo admitted.

"Wait, why'd you guys vote for me?" Mike asked.

"Sorry, dude Lightning did the math. You're out." Lightning told him.

"What does that even mean?" Mike questioned.

"Dunno." Lightning replied.

"I was kinda confused on who to vote for." Lindsay admitted. "I wasn't paying much attention to your whole conflict thingy."

"Sorry Mike, rules are rules. You're out." Chris told him. "But on bright side you get a personal limo ride. Oh, don't sit on the seat to the far left in there. It's really sticky and nobody's been able to figure out why."

"Oh… Thanks." Mike replied, sounding slightly disgusted.

Mike dejectedly stood up and began walking away from his team down the Walk of Shame. He reached the limo at the end of the red carpet when he heard someone calling his name causing him to pause.

"Mike! Mike!" Zoey exclaimed from out of view.

Zoey ran up to Mike.

"I heard you got voted out and just wanted to give you a proper goodbye." Zoey told him.

"Aw, that's nice." Mike replied. "I guess being eliminated first isn't so bad. I won't have to do anymore stressful challenges."

"I'll try and win for you." Zoey said. "Enjoy the ride home. I love you."

Zoey leaned forward and gave Mike a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks Zoey. Good luck with the rest of this game." Mike wished her.

Mike crawled into the limo and closed the door behind. The limousine drove away from the film lot.

"I'm gonna miss him." Zoey remarked.

Chris walked up from behind Zoey.

"Hey there." Chris greeted.

"Gah!" Zoey exclaimed.

"That's one down but there are still a whole lotta contestants left." Chris told the audience as he turned to the camera. "Which ones will fall and which will remain? Find out next time on, Total. Drama. Winners!"

* * *

 **Votes:**

Beth - Jo

Lightning - Mike

Jo - Mike

Shawn - Lindsay

Sky - Mike

Geoff - Beth

Mike - Jo

Jasmine - Jo

Lindsay - Mike

 **Results:**

Mike - 4 Votes

Jo - 3 Votes

Beth - 1 Vote

Lindsay - 1 Vote

 **Eliminated:**

Mike, the Nice Guy (18th Place)

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed this challenge. By the way, I totally recommend seeing "The Poseidon Adventure" it's a great disaster movie. And this is coming from someone who doesn't really like disaster movies. Anyway, back on topic, but sure to leave me a review because I like hearing what people thought of the chapter. Even if you didn't like it I still wanna hear it. As for the elimination, I just didn't have any ideas for Mike. It's not that I hate him or anything. I've really always been neutral about him as a character. But I just couldn't think of any plots to use that didn't involve me bringing back his other personalities in some convoluted way. So without anything for him to do, I just opted to have him be the first to go. Sorry if there are any Mike fans out there. There will be more of him in the Aftermath chapters however. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.**


	3. Loser Heroes

**Once again, writing the challenge in this took more time than I imagined. Hopefully the chapters will be at a slightly more reasonable length once there are less characters to write all at the same time. I had a lot of fun with this challenge and be sure to suggest any movies or genres you'd like to see a challenge based off of in the future. I just might end up using it. Anyway, you can read the chapter now. Enjoy.**

* * *

"Last time, on Total Drama Winners. Our teams had a _sinking_ feeling about the previous challenge." Footage of the teams trying to climb out of the sunken ship's ballroom in the virtual reality machine. "A lot of people died… Well, not really. But still, they fake-died." A clip of Owen, Sugar and Anne Maria falling down into the flooding ballroom followed by a clip of Jo and Mike falling down the elevator shaft was seen. "In the end, not many people remained. But the Raving Writers ended up winning." A clip of Leshawna escaping the ship played. "And with Jo being ticked off at Mike and her being more useful, it was Not-So-Multiple Mike that rode the Lame-O-Sine." Mike bidding Zoey goodbye before leaving the show was shown.

The scene changed to Chris sitting on the side of the stage where the eliminations take place.

"What virtual insanity shall be wrought? "Wrought"? Am I using that right?" Chris questioned himself. "Whatever, the point is, it's time for Total. Drama. Winners!"

* * *

 **(Theme Song)**

* * *

The camera faded in on the two trailers early in the morning before anyone had woken up. The scene changed to inside the guy's cabin.

"Hmm… Yay, Lightning wins again…" Lightning murmured in his sleep.

Lightning rolled over in his sleep, right off one of the top bunk and onto the floor.

"Oof!" Lightning exclaimed as we suddenly woke up. "What the hell!"

The sudden shouting woke the rest of the boys.

"Dude, what's goin' on?" Geoff confusedly asked as he got up from his bed.

"Lightning fell outta bed." Lightning explained as he stood up.

"How were you even able to manage that?" Harold asked.

"Dunno. Just did." Lightning replied.

"What time is it right now?" Dave asked as he got out of bed.

"Roughly six in the morning." Harold answered from the bunk above Dave.

"Hey, where's Shawn?" Owen asked.

"Who cares about that paranoid fool?" Max replied.

"He's probably just sleeping somewhere he thinks is "Safe". Like a hole in the ground." Scott remarked.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Owen)**

"I'm kinda glad me and Shawn aren't on the same team." Owen admitted. "He just seems a little… Not okay."

* * *

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the film lot, Shawn was wandering through the film lot.

"Hmm… Where to find that statue…" Shawn muttered to himself.

Shawn noticed a large stack of crates.

"That could work." Shawn remarked. "But which one? Probably the ones at the bottom. Nobody would look there."

He began pulling on one of the wooden boxes at the bottom. He removed the box only for the rest of the crates to come toppling down on his.

"This was not well thought out." Shawn admitted before being buried by the rest of the crates.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Shawn)**

"Finding one of those three statues Chris mentioned would be really useful." Shawn told the audience. "I just can't figure out where any of them are hidden."

* * *

The scene changed to the inside of the girls' trailer. The only two contestants up were Sugar and Anne Maria. Sugar sat up on her bed while Anne Maria lay down on her bed across the room.

"So, whadda ya think this next challenge's gonna be?" Sugar asked. "I hope my beauty comes in handy."

"Can ya stop talkin'?" Anne Maria asked. "It's six in the morning. Lemme sleep."

"I can't sleep. I'm farmer, I always get up early." Sugar told her.

"Well why do ya have to keep me up?" Anne Maria asked.

"'Cause I'm bored." Sugar explained. "So, ya ever think about what cows would be like if they could talk?"

"That's it. I'm wakin' everyone else up." Anne Maria decided.

Anne Maria sat up and pounded on the wall with her fist.

"Everyone up!" Anne Maria loudly shouted.

The sudden noise caused most of the other girls to spring awake. Jasmine banged her head on the ceiling as she quickly sat up.

"Ow!" Jasmine exclaimed. "What's the big idea 'ere?"

"Mrs. Lard over here wouldn't shut up. So I figured I'd get someone else for her to talk to." Anne Maria exclaimed.

"She's not even on my team, why is this my concern?" Jo asked.

"Hey! Ya can't just talk 'bout me like I ain't here!" Sugar angrily shouted at Jo.

"It's too early in the morning for this. I'm going back to sleep." Beth decided.

"Me too." Zoey agreed.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Zoey)**

"I have to share a team with Anne Maria and Sugar for possibly an entire season… This is gonna suck." Zoey remarked.

* * *

"I don't know about you, but I'm going out for my morning run." Jo commented as she got out of bed.

"Oh, I was going to do the same. Maybe we can run together." Sky offered.

"No thanks. I don't need the company." Jo declined. "Besides I need to do some… Stuff, on my own."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sky)**

"She was definitely trying to find one of those statues." Sky hypothesized.

* * *

The camera cut to a close up of the film lot's loud speakers.

"Good morning everyone! Are you ready for more movie madness?" Chris asked through the speakers. "If you are, meet me and Chef in studio eight. If not… Too bad! You still have to come!"

The scene very quickly changed to the teams arriving in the studio warehouse with the virtual reality machinery. The teams arrived and saw Chris and Chef standing in the middle of the room.

"What gives?" Scott asked. "Why are you doing this so early? I haven't eaten yet."

"I wanted to keep you on your toes." Chris explained. "Don't worry, I'll let you get breakfast next time. On the bright side, you all get free granola bars!"

Chef carelessly tossed a few granola bars at the contestants.

"Ouch!" Leshawna exclaimed a bar hit her on the head. "Man, that thing was surprisingly hard."

"What flavour are these?" Lindsay asked. "I might have an allergy to raisins… Well, okay, it's less of an allergy and more I don't like raisins."

"Kid, just eat 'em." Chef told her.

"So what movie are we basing this challenge on?" Harold asked.

"Well, it's not one movie, but more an entire genre." Chris explained. "More specifically… Superhero movies!"

"Yes! Mwahahaha!" Max laughed.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Max)**

"That fool! Putting a supervillain in a superhero themed challenge ensures a victory from my team!" Max cheered. "Ahahaha!"

* * *

 **(Confessional: Dave)**

"Something tells me Max is not going to shut up at all during this challenge." Dave remarked.

* * *

"What exactly is the challenge though? What do we have to do?" Sky asked.

"Essentially, it's a game of capture the flag with superpowers." Chris explained. "One team will be selected as heroes and the other villains. Each team will have a base. Inside each base is a crystal on a podium. If a team is able to steal a crystal from the opposing team and bring it back to their base, they win. Or you could just kill everyone on the other team to win. Your choice?"

"And what powers do we get?" Beth asked.

"Well, we wanted to let you guys get the powers and gadgets of the cool famous ones like Spiderman or the Joker… But we couldn't afford that." Chris explained. "Instead, you'll be taking on the personas of the less famous, more obscure heroes with practically useless powers."

"What heroes and villains are we going to be?" Harold questioned.

"You'll find out when you get in." Chris told them. "Oh, and just so there's no confusion, the Writers get to be the heroes, and the Editors get to be the villains."

"What! No this is preposterous!" Max protested. "As a freelance supervillain I demand to be placed on the villains team."

"Freelance villain? What does that even mean?" Leshawna asked.

"None of your business!" Max snapped at her.

"Sorry kid, the teams have already been decided." Chris told him. "Now get into that machine."

The contestants sat down in their chairs and placed their helmets on.

"All right, let's get this baby fired up." Chef remarked.

Chef walked up to the machine and pulled the lever.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Harold)**

"As a comic fan, I was worried about what powers we would get. Despite there being many great ones… There are also many not so great ones." Harold said.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sky)**

"I'm not really all that into super heroes." Sky admitted. "But how hard could this challenge be?"

* * *

Inside the game, nine cryogenic pods are positioned against the walls in a white circular room with a giant super-computer in the middle of it. One of the doors to the pods opened to reveal Dave on the inside. Only he looked slightly different with orange skin, wearing a purple leotard, and a matching purple helmet. The lower parts of his arm below his shoulder were green in colour with strange lumps on them.

"Whoa… Where am I?" Dave wondered, looking down at his hands. "And why do I look so ugly?"

Dave walked up to the computer and pressed a button, turning it on.

"Greetings, hero. I will be guiding you." The computer greeted, in a voice that sounded identical to Chris'. "I am your Computerized Heroic Robotic Intelligent Servant. You can call me C.H.R.I.S. for short."

"Really trying to force that acronym there." Dave commented.

"Your allies shall wake shortly." C.H.R.I.S. explained. "But you probably want to know your powers. You, Dave, have been given the powers of: Arm-Fall-Off Boy."

"I'm sorry, what?" Dave asked.

"You may detach either of your arms and use it as a blunt instrument." C.H.R.I.S. told him.

"Arm my arms made of iron or something?" Dave asked.

"Nope, just regular flesh." C.H.R.I.S. replied. "Good luck fighting."

A second pod opened and Max stepped out. He wore a jumpsuit with a blue top, a white belt, and a black bottom half.

"I still can't believe I'm on the heroes team." Max complained. "I have to wear this hideous outfit now."

"Hello Max, you have the powers of Bouncing Boy." C.H.R.I.S. informed Max.

"What are my powers?" Max asked.

"Do I really have to explain?" The computer asked. "You can bounce."

Max jumped up in the air. When he came back down he bounced straight up into the ceiling before hitting the ground and bouncing back up. He continued going back and forth between the floor and ceiling until Dave grabbed him causing him to stop.

"It took you long enough." Max grumbled.

Two more pods opened and Leshawna and Harold stepped out. Each wore light purple spandex with deeper purple gloves and boots. Both had the initial of their first names on the chest of their outfits.

"Man, I dunno how superheroes make this sorta costume look cool." Leshawna commented.

"Leshawna, Harold, you have the powers of the Wonder Twins: Zan and Jayna." C.H.R.I.S. explained.

"And what powers are those exactly?" Leshawna asked.

"When you touch your fists together, you may shapeshift." The computer went on. "Leshawna, you can transform into any animal. Harold, you can transform into anything made of water."

"Dang it, I wanted the cool one." Harold complained.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Harold)**

"I really don't see the practicality of being able to transform into water." Harold admitted. "At least animals are useful. Water is just water."

* * *

Another pod opened up and revealed Zoey. She had light blue skin, light purple hair, a green unitard with a swirling blue pattern, matching green and blue knee length boots and gloves, and green shoulder pads.

"Gah! Why is my skin blue!" Zoey exclaimed after looking down at her hands.

Zoey exited her pod.

"Zoey, you have been given the powers of Infectious Lass." C.H.R.I.S. told her. "You have an immunity to most diseases which is good because your body is riddled with them."

"Ew…" Zoey cringed.

"You also have the power to spread your diseases to other people." C.H.R.I.S. explained. "But be careful, you don't have total control over it."

"Ah! Double ew!" Zoey exclaimed as she backed up into her cryogenics pod.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Zoey)**

"Well, I probably have the grossest super power ever." Zoey commented.

* * *

Yet another one of the pods opened to reveal Scott inside. He wore orange spandex with a white belt and an emblem of what appeared to be a boulder on his chest.

"Hello Scott, you have been granted to powers of Stone Boy." C.H.R.I.S. explained. "You may turn your body into stone at will."

"Hey, that's pretty sweet." Scott remarked. "Lemme try that."

Scott's entirely body suddenly turned to stone. He stood still for a few moments before falling over backwards, still immobile.

"You also cannot move in stone for." C.H.R.I.S. added.

Scott transformed back into his non-stone form.

"What the hell!" Scott exclaimed. "Why didn't ya tell me before!"

"Actually, in the comics Stone Boy did eventually learn to move in stone form." Harold remarked. "But I guess Chris wanted to make it hard for us."

Another pod popped open and Anne Maria stepped out. She was equipped with purple spandex and a belt and collar patterned like a rainbow.

"What the- Why'm I dressed like a damn clown!" Anne Maria angrily shouted.

"Anne Maria, you are Rainbow Girl. With the power to manipulate other people's emotions." C.H.R.I.S. explained.

"Well that sounds pretty neat." Anne Maria remarked, suddenly sounding happy.

"However you also get uncontrollable mood swings." C.H.R.I.S. added.

"I feel like that's sexist in some way." Leshawna remarked.

"Probably." Zoey added.

"Don't come near me Disease Girl." Leshawna told her.

"I'm pretty sure he called me Infectious Lass." Zoey corrected.

"Diseases where?!" Anne Maria panicked.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Scott)**

"Chris really wasn't kidding when he said he was giving us awful powers." Scott remarked. "I feel like I'm probably going to end up getting myself killed."

* * *

A rather large pod opened up and Owen got out of it. He wore spandex with a green torso, yellow legs and arms, and some black on the shoulders.

"Heh heh, this looks cool." Owen remarked. "What powers do I have?"

"You, Owen, have been given the powers of Matter-Eater-Lad." C.H.R.I.S. informed him.

"That's only slightly worse than my name…" Dave mumbled.

"This gives you the power to eat and digest anything." C.H.R.I.S. explained.

"Heh, I kinda already had that power." Owen joked.

The final pod opened to reveal Sugar on the inside. She wore green spandex with gloves, boots, and what appeared to be a one piece swim suit all made out of brown fur over that.

"What the hay?" Sugar remarked. "What's with the clothes? It ain't fur season yet. I'd get laughed out of the pageant dressed like this."

"Sugar, you are: Squirrel Girl." C.H.R.I.S. told her. "Your main power is to control animals. But only squirrels."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sugar)**

"I've probably cooked more squirrels than talked to 'em, but hopefully this power works out." Sugar remarked.

* * *

The scene changed to the inside of a room identical to the one the Writers woke up in except that the walls were painted black instead of white and there were only eight cryogenic pods. One of the pods opened to reveal Lindsay inside wearing a Tarzan-like dress that appeared to be made from leopard skin.

"Ew, this outfit is not me _at all_." Lindsay remarked.

Lindsay wandered over to the computer in the middle of the room.

"Hmm… Wonder what button starts this thingy." Lindsay said.

She pressed a random button on it causing the screen to light up.

"Hello, I am your Computerized Helpful Evil Friend." The computer introduced themselves in a voice that sounded like Chef's. "But you can just call me C.H.E.F. if you want."

"Who am I and what are my powers?" Lindsay asked.

"You're Giganta and you've been given the power to grow larger in height at will." C.H.E.F. explained.

"Wow, that sounds like a really cool power." Lindsay remarked.

"Gonna be totally honest, I think Chris just chose this character as an excuse to get you in as little clothing as possible." C.H.E.F. admitted "What an old creep… Ow!"

"What was with he "Ow" part?" Lindsay asked.

"Chris just hit me in real life." C.H.E.F. explained. "Anyway, time to wake up the rest of your team."

A second pod opened up and Jasmine stepped out. She was wearing a blue jacket with a pattern that appeared to be made up of white boomerangs along with black pants. She had a holster on her side that held a boomerang in it.

"What the 'ell is this all about?" Jasmine confusedly remarked.

"Jasmine, you are now Captain Boomerang." C.H.E.F. informed her. "Your power is being really good at using a boomerang."

"Really? I mean… Really?" Jasmine asked. "A boomerang? That's not even a power."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jasmine)**

"Oh sure, they just 'ad to give the Australian girl the boomerang." Jasmine complained. "I've never even thrown one of those things in my life before this challenge. 'Spose it could've been worse. I think I made the most of it."

* * *

Another pod opened and Geoff stepped out from inside. He wore white spandex with multi-coloured polka dots on it, a red belt, and red goggles each with a different colour in the eye.

"Dude, this feels so weird. It's like wearing those 3-D glasses." Geoff commented. "Real trippy."

"Geoff, you're Polka Dot Man." Chef explained. "You got the power to rip those dots off your suit and use them for all sorts of things."

"I can't tell if that's really cool or really lame." Geoff remarked.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Geoff)**

"Y'know I kinda think Chris is just making up some of these guys." Geoff admitted.

* * *

A fourth pod opened and Jo exited. She wore light blue spendex with matching boots and a darker blue cowl. Her suit seemed to have the symbols of various zodiac signs on it.

"Why the heck am I dressed like a horoscope?" Jo asked.

"Jo, you are Zodiac Master." C.H.E.F. explained. "Basically, your power is the same as Geoff's. You can take those symbols off your costume as use them was weapons."

"Hey, I don't read many comics, but isn't that Zodiac Dude supposed to be a guy?" Geoff asked.

"It was harder to find lame lady super villains than we thought it'd be." C.H.E.F. admitted. "Also, we just wanted to mess with you by doing this."

"How does this mess with me?" Jo asked.

"It'll make Lightning think you're a man even more." C.H.E.F. explained.

"Dammit!" Jo exclaimed.

"Speaking of which, let's wake him up." C.H.E.F. said.

Another pod popped open and Lightning stepped out. Lightning wore a metal helmet with three lights that were coloured red, yellow, and blue. He also had a tunic with a multicoloured quilt pattern and a yellow belt. The sleeves and pants on his outfit were black.

"Sha-damn!" Lightning exclaimed. "Why's everything so colourful up in here?"

"Lightning, you've got the powers of Crazy Quilt." C.H.E.F. explained. "Besides seeing everything in really bright colours that helmet of yours can hypnotize people and shoot lasers.

"This ain't so bad. Lightning just wishes his costume wasn't so silly." Lightning commented.

"At least you don't look like a zodiac wheel." Jo remarked.

"Oh hey man, nice outfit." Lightning told Jo.

"I hate you…" Jo mumbled to herself.

Another pod opened itself up and Sky stepped out. She wore a metallic body suit and helmet with a strange pattern on the legs.

"Huh, I feel slightly taller than usual." Sky remarked.

"That's 'cause you've got the powers of Lady Stilt-Man." C.H.E.F. explained.

"Do you mean Stilt-Lady?" Sky asked.

"Apparently there was a Stilt-Man and then there's this lady with similar powers and- Look, it's some nerd stuff I don't wanna explain." C.H.E.F. replied. "Point is, your name is Lady Stilt-Man and your powers are to get really tall thanks to that robot suit you got there."

Another cryogenic pod opened and revealed Beth inside. She wore a green mask resembling a moth, orange metallic wings, a tight purple shirt, and orange and green striped stockings. She had a belt which had a strange looking gun in its holster.

"Gah! I can't see in this thing!" Beth exclaimed as she fumbled to remove her helmet.

Beth took off her helmet.

"That's better." Beth remarked.

"All right Beth, you're Killer Moth." C.H.E.F. told her. "Those wings on your back can help you fly and you got a cocoon gun too."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Beth)**

"Y'know my powers aren't so bad… Just wish I wasn't a moth." Beth said.

* * *

The very last pod opened to reveal Shawn on the inside. He wore red spandex with a stripe in the middle and sunglasses. Along the chest of his outfit was several symbols that seemed to be eyes.

"What the- How am I looking at my legs!" Shawn exclaimed. "And from so many angles!"

"Huh? What are you talking about, bro?" Lightning asked.

"Shawn, you are the Ten Eyed Man." C.H.E.F. informed him. "With the power of having eyes on each of your fingers."

Shawn pointed his hands at the computer and revealed that there were indeed eyes on each of his fingers.

"Gross…" Beth cringed.

"Well, I didn't need to sleep tonight." Jo remarked.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Shawn)**

"Having ten eyes is not a super power." Shawn stated. "If anything, it makes being evil harder. If you tried to make a fist you'd be blind!"

* * *

The scene changed back to the Writers walking through the corridors of the hero headquarters.

"All right, anybody here have a plan?" Dave asked.

"First, we need to find this crystal Chris was talking about." Harold told him.

"What does this crystal thing even do?" Zoey asked.

"Probably nothing. It's just a plot device to drive the story forward." Harold replied. "Most movies have at least one. Like the briefcase in Pulp Fiction."

"Is that the movie about John Travolta and Sam Jackson going to get burgers?" Owen asked.

"I don't even know how to respond to that." Harold remarked.

The Writers enter a room at the end of the hall that contained a red gem on a pedestal with a glass casing over it.

"Well, that's gotta be the crystal." Sugar remarked.

"We found the dang crystal. What's the plan now?" Leshawna asked.

"We should split up." Harold suggested. "Three of us guards the crystal, the other three guard the front door to this place, and the last three try and break in to the opposing team's base."

"I wanna be part of that there break in team. I can't use my powers if there ain't any squirrels around." Sugar said.

"Uh, I guess I'll go with you." Zoey told Sugar. "After all, if I stayed behind the only people I'd be infecting would be on my team."

"Why should pretty little redhead and 'lil miss pageant queen get to go out on a mission!" Anne Maria yelled. "I wanna do that."

After a few moments Anne Maria sheepishly smiled.

"Heh, no idea what came over me just there." Anne Maria sheepishly remarked.

"Yeah, there's still enough room for one more person." Zoey pointed out.

"Great, I'll go with you." Anne Maria said.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Anne Maria)**

"'Kay, every second I was in that challenge I hated my "Powers" more and more." Anne Maria told the audience.

* * *

"I'll go with Leshawna and guard the door." Harold said. "Since our powers only work when we're together there's no point in being separated."

"Hmm... I'll go with you." Scott decided. "You'll probably be less annoying than the others."

"How dare you!" Max exclaimed. "I'll get my revenge for this."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Scott)**

"Man, that little guy is annoying." Scott remarked. "How is he a winner exactly?"

* * *

"Heh, so I guess that leaves me, Max, and Dave in the gem room." Owen said.

"With my stupid power this is probably for the best." Dave admitted.

"Hmmph, I'd rather be out there fighting." Max grumbled.

"Gosh, it's too late for this. Let's all just get in position." Harold told his team.

Meanwhile, the Editors had discovered a gem room of their own. The only real difference was that the gem on the pedestal was blue instead of red.

"Ooh, what a pretty little thing." Lindsay remarked. "I'd totally wear that on like, a necklace."

"So, like, what's the plan from here, dude?" Geoff asked.

"I've got a plan. We send two of us off to scout out the area. See what the defence on the other place is." Jo instructed. "Once you're back, we formulate another plan."

"Y'know, that's actually a pretty good idea." Jasmine admitted.

"Of course it's a good plan. That's why I thought of it." Jo replied.

"Who should we send out?" Shawn asked.

"Beth and Sky." Jo stated. "Beth can get a view from the air and Sky can get the same effect with her stilts."

"I think we should send something a bit more subtle." Jasmine disagreed. "Someone flying and a woman on stilts would stand out."

"Fine, who would you send?" Jo asked.

"Shawn because he can use his power to see around corners and Lightning because if they're caught, he can use the helmet to hypnotize them." Jasmine reasoned.

"How about we split the difference?" Sky suggested. "Me and Lightning will go."

"That's all right with me." Beth replied. "If I'm being honest, I have no idea how these wings work."

"I'm okay with staying here too." Shawn admitted. "It is really annoying to hold my hands up at whatever I want to look at."

Sky and Lightning both began walking away from their team to go scout the area.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jo)**

"Jasmine is clearly a very big leader type." Jo said. "I have some respect for her. But mostly, I dislike her for getting in my way. Funny how stuff like that works out."

* * *

Meanwhile, Anne Maria, Sugar, and Zoey were walking through a cityscape together away from their base.

"Where are we going?" Zoey asked. "And why are you two walking so fast?"

"'Cause we don't wanna end up with the flu." Sugar told her.

"Oh come on, I'm not that contagious." Zoey defended.

"Better safe than sick." Anne Maria replied.

"Fair point." Zoey admitted as she intentionally slowed her pace to distance herself from the other girls.

"So what're we out here lookin' for anyway?" Sugar asked.

"Probably something evil looking. Like a fort shaped like a skull." Anne Maria replied.

The two of them wandered through the city some more until Sugar saw a park.

"Hey! Let's get through that there park." Sugar suggested. "There are probably squirrels in there."

"Why not. Sounds like a fun adventure." Anne Maria cheerily said.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Zoey)**

"I kinda liked Anne Maria better with those mood swings." Zoey admitted. "At least she was nice sometimes."

* * *

Meanwhile, Sky and Lightning were walking through another part of the city together.

"Man, why ain't anybody out here?" Lightning wondered.

"I guess Chris didn't feel like adding anybody other than us to this virtual world." Sky remarked.

"He sure don't know much about how colours work." Lightning remarked. "Clouds ain't 'sposed to be green."

"Lightning, I think it's just your helmet that's making you see that." Sky told him.

"Maybe your eyes just ain't right." Lightning suggested.

"Look, let's just try and keep a low profile around here." Sky suggested.

Lightning nodded.

The two of the kept going through the city until they saw the same park the others saw.

"Hey maybe we could go through there?" Lightning suggested. "It'll probably be faster than the other way."

"All right, sure." Sky replied. "What the worst that could happen?"

"Probably a lot." Lightning answered.

"It was a rhetorical question." Sky told him. "Now let's move."

The two of them walked into the area of the park.

"So what're we lookin' for exactly?" Lightning asked.

"We need to see where the other team is located then report back to our team." Sky explained. "Were you not paying attention?"

"Kinda. Lightning was tryin' to figure out why he's dressed like his farsighted grandma knitted him a Halloween costume." Lightning replied. "At least you got to get the cool costume."

"True." Sky admitted.

The duo continued through the park until they heard footsteps up ahead.

"We've got company." Sky told Lightning. "Quick, let's hide."

The two villains ducked into a nearby bush.

"What's the plan from here?" Lightning whispered to his partner.

"I don't know." Sky admitted. "Let's just see who's up ahead then we'll improvise from there."

After a few quiet moments Sugar, Anne Maria, and Zoey walked up the path towards where the two Editors were hidden.

"I'm bored." Sugar complained. "And I ain't seein' any squirrels anywhere."

"Zip it!" Anne Maria snapped at her. "I can't believe I have to put up with you two!"

"It was your idea to tag along in the first place." Zoey pointed out.

"I realize that!" Anne Maria shouted.

The camera focused back on the two Editor villains in the bushes.

"You thinkin' what Lightning's thinkin'?" Lightning asked.

"Ambush?" Sky guessed.

"Yep." Lightning replied. "Lets go."

Lightning and Sky both jumped out from the bush in the path of the Writers.

"Hold it right there!" Lightning explained. "You're in our sha-path!"

Sugar immediately burst into uncontrollable laughter.

"This is the funniest thing I've seen all day!" Sugar continued to laugh before losing her balance and falling over to the ground. "Your outfits are so silly! This is a riot!"

"Says the girl dressed like a squirrel." Sky remarked.

"Hey! Squirrels are vicious. One of 'em took my uncle Paulie's eye out two summers ago." Sugar said as she stopped laughing and stood up.

"Uh, hey, so, are we gonna like, fight or something?" Zoey asked.

"Sha-yeah we are!" Lightning cheered. "Let's do this! Woo!"

Lightning fired a blue ray of light from his helmet but it missed the three heroes.

"Dang it!" Lightning exclaimed.

"Oh it is going down now!" Anne Maria exclaimed.

She fired a light blue ball of light from her hands that hit Lightning in the head, knocking him down.

"Y'know, Lightning suddenly don't feel like fighting." Lightning remarked. "Weird."

Anne Maria ran at Lightning and hit him in the face.

"Well I do!" Anne Maria exclaimed. "Let's throw down!"

"All right, I guess we're really doing this." Sky remarked. "Here I go."

The robotic legs on Sky's suit began to extend.

"Pfft, that's your power?" Sugar asked. "What're you gonna do? Step on me?"

Sky kicked Sugar with her newly long legs sending her flying into a nearby tree.

"I'll keep my mouth shut now…" Sugar weakly muttered.

Lightning stood up.

"Ha! Takes more than a punch to keep Lightning from getting back up again." Lightning said. "Let's try this again."

Lightning fired a red blast of light from his suit. It hit Anne Maria in the chest, knocking her over.

"Ow! Why you little- This ain't over!" Anne Maria exclaimed. "Zoey! You just gonna stand there?! Go infect one of these mouth breathers!"

"Oh, okay." Zoey replied.

"I take great offence to being called a mouth breather." Sky remarked.

Zoey ran up to Lightning. She coughed and a cloud of spores went up into his face.

"Sha-gross, girl! What the hell was that?" Lightning asked.

"Uh… I'm supposed to be Infectious Lass." Zoey explained. "You're probably not going to feel very well pretty soon."

"Lightning don't' feel anything." Lightning remarked. "So… Sha-bye!"

Lightning fired a ray of red light from his helmet, knocking Zoey back a few feet.

"I think that takes care of things." Sky remarked as she resumed her regular height.

"Let's get outta here." Lightning said.

Hey! Ain't ya forgetting about someone?" Sugar asked from out of view.

Sky and Lightning looked over and saw Sugar with a large group of squirrels behind her.

"Hahaha! That is sha-hilarious!" Lightning laughed. "What're you gonna do."

"Lightning, I think we should be worried." Sky told him.

"Attack!" Sugar exclaimed.

The squirrels ran at the two villains. They ran on top of Lightning and pinned him to the ground.

"Ow! Get your tiny little legs off me!" Lightning exclaimed.

Sky started extending the legs of her suit as the squirrels began climbing up.

"All right, let's get out of here." Sky said.

She one by one kicked her legs sending the squirrels on them flying. Her legs detracted to her regular height. She grabbed Lightning's hand and began to extend her legs again. The squirrels started to fall off of Lightning.

"Thanks, girl." Lightning said. "Let's book it back to the base."

Sky nodded and began to run with her newly long legs.

"That'll show 'em." Sugar remarked.

Sugar went over to where Anne Maria and Zoey were on the ground and helped them up.

"You okay?" Sugar asked.

"I'll be all right. Just take me back to the base." Zoey replied. "I think I need a few moments to recover."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sky)**

"That encounter could've gone better." Sky admitted. "How was I supposed ot know those squirrels would be so tough?"

* * *

Meanwhile, by the entrance to the Writers' home base, Leshawna, Harold, and Scott were guarding the door.

"I am so bored right now." Scott complained. "Nothing interesting is happening."

"Will you shut up?" Lehsawna asked. "I've heard enough of your whining."

"But nothing's happened. What's the point of having super powers if you can't use them?" Scott asked.

"He's sort of a got a point." Harold remarked.

"Don't side with him." Leshawna told Harold.

"Sorry." Harold apologized.

Just then, Anne Maria, Sugar, and Zoey ran up to their teammates at the gate, looking out of breath.

"What happened to you guys?" Scott asked.

"We had a run in with the other team." Zoey explained.

"I drove 'em off with my squirrels." Sugar added.

"But we might wanna redo our plan." Anne Maria remarked. "'Cause those guys were surprisingly tough."

"All right, let's talk this over with the rest of the team." Leshawna replied.

Meanwhile, back inside the room with the gem, Dave, Owen, and Max were talking.

"So tell me Dave, can you really remove one of your arms?" Max asked.

"I mean, that's what the computer said." Dave replied. "I haven't tried it though."

"Ooh, ooh, I wanna see that." Owen said.

"All right, I'll try." Dave remarked.

Dave grabbed his left arm and pulled it. His arm detached leading a weird squishy stump in its place.

"Yep…. I can remove it…" Dave commented, sounding grossed out. "I'm just gonna put it back before I faint…"

He reattached his left arm as quickly as he could.

"Cool." Owen remarked.

The rest of the Writers entered the gem room.

"Hmmph, shouldn't you be out fighting evil?" Max asked.

"Yeah, we sorta did that." Zoey said. "But we got beat up."

"But my squirrels saved the day." Sugar added.

"You don't have to keep reminding us!" Anne Maria shouted. "Heh… Sorry."

"We're here to formulate a new plan." Harold explained.

"Come to turn to me for advice have you?" Max asked. "Well, it's about time."

"Yeah, we are not doing that." Lesahwna told him. "We just wanted everyone to be here."

"So what's the plan anyway?" Owen asked.

"I say we send more people out to the villains' base." Scott suggested. "Let's bring the fight to them."

"Well, I've heard worse ideas." Leshawna remarked. "It could work. But who should go?"

"I think I did all right." Anne Maria boasted. "I wanna go back out."

"Me too!" Sugar exclaimed. "Those squirrels were fun!"

"I think I'll stay." Zoey remarked. "My powers didn't really seem to do anything."

"I'd certainly like to get into the action myself." Harold commented. "And since I'm powers can't function on their own I need Leshawna to accompany me."

"Fine. I'll go with you." Leshawna told him.

"Yes." Harold quietly cheered to himself.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Harold)**

"I think me and Leshawna have great teamwork." Harold said. "Much like the actual Wonder Twins… Minus the being related part, obviously."

* * *

"I would like to go as well." Max added. "I may not be a supervillain as I am in real life. But I'd like to put my powers to good use."

"Sounds fun." Owen remarked. "I'd like to come too."

"That should be enough people." Harold remarked. "Everyone else stay here. Let's roll."

The seven contestants who chose to leave exited the gem room.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Dave)**

"I didn't really mind not going out on that mission." Dave admitted. "Really, my only power was dismembering myself so it's not too much of a loss to not have me."

* * *

Meanwhile, at the villains' base, Lightning and Sky enter through the front door where their teammates were waiting.

"Well, did you see anything?" Jo asked.

"Squirrels… So many squirrels…" Lightning muttered. "Everything's so cold…"

"Is he okay?" Beth asked.

"Zoey coughed on him. I think he might be sick now." Sky explained. "Also, don't go through the park. Apparently, Sugar can talk to squirrels now."

"That doesn't sound so bad." Lindsay remarked.

"It is… Very bad…" Lightning muttered. "Does anyone have those chewy Flintstones vitamins? Lightning wants some…"

"All right here's the plan. We send our least useless members over to the heroes." Jo suggested.

"Actually, that's not that bad a plan." Jasmine admitted.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jasmine)**

"I feel like I might've misjudged Jo at first." Jasmine told the audience. "Still… Something isn't quite right about 'er. I'll still keep one eye open when she's around."

* * *

"But who do you consider to be "The least useless" exactly?" Jasmine continued.

"That is a good question." Jo admitted. "Lindsay may be thicker than a box of doorknobs but her power is actually useful."

"It is?" Lindsay asked. "That's nice."

"Sky seemed to do pretty well. We should send her back out." Jasmine suggested.

"I'll allow it." Jo said.

"What does that mean?" Sky asked.

"I don't have to answer you." Jo replied. "You know what, Beth, Shawn, you stay here. No offence but you seem useless. Be sure to keep an eye on Lightning. Everyone else come with me. We're gonna storm the heroes base."

"Wait, even me?" Geoff asked. "You sure?"

"Yeah, I have to question Geoff's inclusion." Jasmine added. "There's strength in number and all… But his villain name is Polka Dot Man. That doesn't exactly give off a fearful persona."

"Uh huh, gotta agree." Geoff added. "You sure about this?"

"Now that you say it out loud, it does sound kinda stupid." Jo admitted. "All right Geoff, you stay here. Every one else. Let's get out of here and take the fight to the other team."

Meanwhile, the heroes from before were out walking through the cityscape towards the villains' base.

"So Harold, is your only power really just turning into water?" Sugar asked.

"Unfortunately." Harold replied.

"Haha! That is hilarious!" Sugar laughed.

"Hmmph, it's not that funny." Max remarked.

"I think it kinda is." Owen admitted. "No offence taken."

"None taken." Harold said.

"Guys, we need to focus on getting over to the other team." Leshawna reminded them.

"Ooh! Ooh! Can we go through the park again?" Sugar asked. "That's where all the squirrels are."

"Why not." Leshawna replied.

"Yeehaw!" Sugar exclaimed.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Max)**

"Ugh… She's obnoxious." Max remarked. "Can you imagine being around someone so annoying all the time? It's insufferable."

* * *

Meanwhile, the selected members of the villains were off in another part of the city.

"Hey Jo, so like, what are your powers again?" Lindsay asked.

"I'm not exactly sure." Jo admitted. "I think I can turn the pictures on this suit into weapons on something."

"That's still a better gimmick than mine." Jasmine remarked. "Boomerangs are not a suitable gimmick for me."

"You seem really upset about the whole boomerang thing." Sky commented.

"I've just never thrown one, that's all." Jasmine explained.

The four kept going through the forest until they came across the park from earlier.

"Hold on, we should go around this." Sky advised.

"Why, it looks like it'll be a short cut." Jo replied.

"Didn't I already tell you?" Sky asked. "That's where Sugar can get all of her squirrels from… I can not believe I just said that."

"Neither can I." Jo remarked. "Man, this place gets weirder every time I come back."

"I kinda like it here." Lindsay remarked. "Wait, what were we talking about?"

"We were talking about why we should go around the park." Sky reminded them. "Away from the squirrels."

"I say we go for it." Jo said. "There are more of us now. We can overpower them."

"Arright, I'll let you try this." Jasmine told Jo. "But if it backfires don't blame me."

"I won't." Jo replied.

The villains began walking through the park.

"I have such a bad feeling about this." Sky remarked.

"Maybe that bad feeling is just skipping breakfast?" Lindsay asked. "I get super grumpy whenever I miss breakfast."

"As long as we avoid any squirrels we should be fine." Sky said. "Wow… I keep having to say such ridiculous things."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sky)**

"I can't believe it took me that long to realize how ridiculous the challenge was." Sky remarked. "If this is only the second, that does not bode well for the rest of these challenges."

* * *

The Editors continued to stroll through the park.

"See anything yet?" Lindsay asked.

"Will you please stop asking?" Jo irritably replied.

"But I wanna know." Lindsay said. "Please. Pretty please."

"No! I do not see anything!" Jo snapped. "Now will you just please shut up!?"

"Deep breaths, Jo. Deep breaths." Jasmine advised her.

"I didn't ask for your opinion." Jo told her.

The Editors walked in silence for a few more moments until they came across the Writers standing in their path.

"Huh, didn't expect to meet you here again." Anne Maria remarked. "You ready to get beaten again?"

Sugar once again burst out into laughter.

"Aw man! These outfits are even worse than the last!" Sugar laughed. "'Specially the one with the tiny boomerangs."

"Sadly, you're right about that." Jasmine admitted.

"A lot of these characters got a much needed update after the silver age." Harold remarked.

"Nobody cares." Jo told him. "Now are you all ready to fight?"

"Agreed, enough with the pleasantries. Let's fight!" Max exclaimed.

"Leshawna, let's transform." Harold suggested.

"Do we have to?" Leshawna asked. "Being an animal seems weird."

"Just do it. It's an awesome power." Harold told her.

"Fine." Leshawna replied.

Leshawna and Harold put their fists together.

"Wonder Twin powers activate!" Harold exclaimed.

"You don't have to do that." Leshawna told him.

"Form of: A block of ice!" Harold cheered.

"Uh, form of: A tiger?" Leshawna unsurely said.

Harold transformed into a large bowling ball shaped block of ice and Leshawna turned into a tiger with features resembling herself.

"Ooh, I have awesome powers too!" Lindsay exclaimed.

Lindsay grew to the height of a skyscraper.

"Whee! You guys look like little ants." Lindsay remarked.

"Huh… Looks like they've got a _big_ advantage." Max remarked.

"Are you talking about her breasts?" Owen asked.

"No you fool! She's a literal giant!" Max shouted.

"Attack!" Jo exclaimed.

Jasmine took a boomerang from her holster and threw it at the other team. Owen jumped in the way and the boomerang bounced off her.

"Dang it…" Jasmine muttered.

Owen picked up the boomerang and bit a piece out of it.

"Hey, I really can eat anything. Cool." Owen remarked.

"I'll be right back guys! I'mma get an army of squirrels." Sugar told her team before running off into the trees of the park.

Max jumped up in the air and landed on his stomach. He bounced up and forwards towards the villainous team. Max hit Jo in the chest causing him to bounce back and her to fall over.

"Ha, it's almost too easy." Max remarked as he landed on his feet.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Max)**

"Hmm, perhaps bouncing isn't such an awful power after all." Max remarked. "I need to write that down in my potential gadgets notebook."

* * *

"I'm not being defeated by you of all people!" Jo exclaimed.

Jo got to her feet and peeled the symbol of an arrow off her chest.

"Behold the power of Capricorn!" Jo exclaimed.

"It's Sagittarius." Jasmine corrected. "Capricorn's the weird mermaid-goat."

"Shut up." Jo said as the 2D arrow became three dimensional.l

She threw the golden arrow at the Writers as a jet came out of the back of said arrow. The arrow hit Owen in the stomach and knocked him a few feet back before dematerializing.

"I'm okay… Kinda…" Owen murmured.

"Don't worry team! You can do it!" Harold cheered in his ice form.

"Harold sweetie, the support is appreciated, but not helping." Leshawna told him.

Leshawna, in tiger form, charged at Lindsay and bit her big toe.

"Heh, that kinda tickles." Lindsay commented.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Leshawna)**

"That was a stupid move." Leshawna admitted. "Really shoulda seen it coming."

* * *

Lindsay kicked her enormous leg and sent Leshawna flying into the distance where she landed on top of Ice-Form-Harold.

"Didn't go too well, huh?" Harold asked.

"What gave it away?" Leshawna replied.

The two of them transformed back into their human forms.

"All right, I think I got a plan." Leshawna remarked. "Damn… My back feels numb."

"What's the plan?" Harold asked.

"Retreat!" Leshawna exclaimed before standing up.

"Huh?" Harold confusedly murmured.

"Trust me on this." Leshawna said before she started running away from the villains.

Harold got up and follow her.

"Hey! Where are ya going!" Anne Maria exclaimed. "Don't just run! We gotta-"

The expression on Anne Maria's face suddenly changed.

"I suddenly feel like running." Anne Maria said. "Wait for me before I die!"

Anne Maria began chasing after the other two.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Anne Maria)**

"Stupid virtual mood swings…" Anne Maria grumbled.

* * *

Owen and Max ran after the rest of their team. All the Writers hid behind a nearby bush.

"Ha! We win!" Jo cheered.

"They're planning something…" Jasmine observed, quizzically scratching her chin.

"What are you talking about?" Lindsay asked as she shrunk to her normal size.

"Something doesn't seem right." Jasmine said. "They're going to do something. Quick, let's hide and come up with a plan of our own. Also, one of us needs to eves drop of them."

"I'll do it." Sky volunteered. "Without these stilts I'm the shortest one here."

Sky began walking over to the bush the heroes were hiding in while the other Editors hid over in a different bush.

The camera focused itself on the hidden heroes.

"So what's the plan from here?" Owen asked. "It's very hard for me to fit back here."

"Hang on, where's Sugar?" Harold asked.

Sugar rushed up to the other heroes behind the bush with a group of squirrels following her.

"I'm here! I got the squirrels!" Sugar cheered. "Why are we hiding?"

"We're coming up with a new plan." Leshawna explained.

"Why's hiding part of the plan?" Sugar asked.

"Shut up and let me think." Leshawna told her.

The Writers waited in silence for a few moments.

"Can I butt in?" Harold spoke up. "How about we send half of this group to the villains' base to retrieve their crystal while the other half fends off."

"You just gave me a great idea." Leshawna replied. "Owen, Max, Sugar, go to the other team's HQ while me, Harold, and Anne Maria distract the others."

"Uh, I ain't wanting to offend anyone. But are they the best choice?" Anne Maria asked.

"Look, the three of us need to be here for our plan to work." Leshawna said. "Trust me."

"Yes, I'm sure my abilities will be quite useful." Max proclaimed.

"What he said." Owen added.

"Squirrels!" Sugar cheered.

"Just let me explain what we gotta do before anything else." Leshawna told her team.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sugar)**

"I may've gotten a bit too much in character back there." Sugar admitted.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Leshawna)**

"Yeah… Sugar ain't the type of person I want to stick around for too long." Leshawna said. "No offence, but she's a little weird and not in the good kinda way."

* * *

The scene changed to the Editors over behind their bush. Sky quickly climbed behind the bush.

"Okay guys, I was able to eavesdrop on the others." Sky informed her team.

"What'd they say?" Lindsay asked.

"They're planning to send three of their guys over to our base." Sky explained. "I left before they could finish because I was worried about getting caught."

"Hmm… That is a good plan." Jo admitted. "And they say imitation is the best form of flattery."

"Are you suggesting we send one of our own into their base?" Jasmine asked.

"Exactly." Jo replied. "The only question is who. We can't send too many or we might be outnumbered. I think we should only send one. Anyone wanna go?"

"I'll do it." Jasmine volunteered. "You all hold the other team off while I get past. Let's go!"

The Editors got out from behind their bush just as the other team got out from theirs.

"You all ready to go down!" Jo taunted the other team.

"Only if you are." Leshawna confidently replied.

"Squirrels attack!" Sugar exclaimed.

The group of squirrels following sugar scurried towards the Writers. The squirrels crawled on the four Writers causing much confusion.

"Oh god why!" Jo exclaimed.

"Not the face!" Lindsay exclaimed. "Anything but that!"

In this confusion Owen, Max, and Sugar ran past the Writers. Once they were gone the squirrels followed the other three.

"What the heck just happened?" Sky asked.

"Doesn't matter! Attack them!" Jo ordered.

Anne Maria shot Jo with a ball of yellow energy.

"Or not, do what you feel." Jo said.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jo)**

"Ugh… That felt so unnatural." Jo shuddered.

* * *

Jasmine ran towards the Editors. She took another boomerang from her belt and threw it at them. The boomerang hit Harold in the face, knocking him over.

"I'm okay… Probably." Harold muttered.

The boomerang came back towards Jasmine who grabbed it before running away from both teams towards the Writers' base.

"All right, it's go time!" Jo cheered. "Let's fight!"

Lindsay grew to her skyscraper-like size and Sky extended her stilt legs.

"Wonder Twin powers activate!" Harold cheered as he and Leshawna pressed their fists together.

"Harold, you don't need to do that." Leshawna told him.

"Form of: A puddle of water!" Harold exclaimed.

"Form of: An eagle!" Leshawna cheered.

Harold transformed into a puddle of water on the ground with his face on it while Leshawna became a bald eagle.

"This is my part, right?" Anne Maria asked. "I'm all of a sudden not feeling confident."

"Just do your thing." Harold told her.

Anne Maria nodded before firing a ball of red energy at Lindsay.

"Gah! You're gonna pay for that!" Lindsay shouted, suddenly sounding angry.

Leshawna flew up to Lindsay and began circling around her head.

"Stop doing that! It's annoying!" Lindsay angrily exclaimed.

"Uh, Lindsay, keep calm." Sky told her.

"I am calm!" Lindsay shouted as she swatted at and missed Leshawna.

Leshawna flew away from Lindsay who slowly followed. Lindsay stepped on Harold in his water form and began to topple over backwards.

"Whoa!" Lindsay exclaimed as she fell.

Sky extended her legs further and put her hands on Lindsay's back in an attempt to hold her up.

"I've got you…" Sky weakly told Lindsay.

The legs on Sky's stilt suit slowly began to collapse.

"No I don't…" Sky realized.

Sky's suit broke completely and she fell to the ground.

"I'm okay…" Sky muttered before looking up and seeing Lindsay falling down towards her. "But not for long…"

Lindsay landed on top of Sky, killing her virtually.

"Ow… My head." Lindsay mumbled.

"Ha! Looks like we took out two." Anne Maria cheered.

"Well, I'm not one to run from a fight." Jo said. "But in this case…"

Jo began to flee from the scene.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jo)**

"That was not my proudest moment." Jo admitted.

* * *

Meanwhile, inside the base of the Angry Editors, the non-chosen contestants were waiting by the front doors.

"Ugh… Lightning's got a stomach ache." Lightning groaned in pain.

"Don't worry, I'm sure it'll feel better once we're out of the simulation." Beth told him.

"You think we should be keeping a better eye on the door?" Shawn asked. "We haven't really been taking any security measures."

"What's the worst that could-" Geoff began before the door behind them burst opened to reveal Sugar, Owen, and Max on the other side.

"Yeehaw! It's squirrel time!" Sugar cheered.

"Not again!" Lightning screamed.

"Mwahaha! That crystal will be ours!" Max exclaimed.

"That doesn't sound very heroic, Max." Owen pointed out.

"Shut up." Max told him. "I'm not a hero."

"Gah! Who's there!" Shawn exclaimed as he pointed his fingers at the door.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Shawn)**

"I don't get how having ten eyes counts as a power." Shawn admitted.

* * *

"Heh, so are you ready to fight, guys?" Beth asked.

"You know it." Sugar replied. "Hit me with yer best shot."

Beth took her cocoon gun from her belt and fired it. The substance inside the gun hit Sugar in the yes, blinding her.

"What in tarnation! I can't see!" Sugar exclaimed. "Get this stuff off!"

Max jumped over to the wall and bounced off that surface towards the villains. He moved towards Shawn who ducked, causing Max to bump into a nearby wall.

"Oof!" Max exclaimed before bouncing off that wall back towards Shawn. "You'll pay for that!"

Max landed on top of Shawn who quickly moved his hands out of the way.

"Get off of me!" Shawn exclaimed.

Shawn kicked Max in the stomach sending him flying up the ceiling.

"A little help here!" Max angrily requested as he bounced up and down between the ceiling and floor.

"I gots my own problems, okay?" Sugar replied as she pulled to get the gunk from Beth's cocoon gun out from her eyes.

"Ooh! I can help!" Owen exclaimed.

Owen ran over to where Max was and grabbed him before setting him down.

"Bro, you like, totally forgot I was here." Geoff said.

Geoff peeled a purple polka dot from his suit which suddenly became three dimensional and the size of a throwing disc.

"Ha! You honestly expect me to be afraid of that!" Max laughed. "That is the most hilarious thing I've heard all day!"

"Yeah, sorry Geoff. Gotta agree with Max." Owen admitted. "I mean, how's a polka dot 'sposed to-"

He threw the polka dot he was holding at the two heroes, hitting Owen in the head, knocking ho over.

"Oh… That's how…" Owen mumbled. "Ouch."

"Whoa, I didn't expect that to work." Geoff admitted. "Sweet."

Geoff took another polka dot from his suit and threw it at Max, knocking him down as well.

"Haha! Got it!" Sugar cheered as she ripped the cocoon from her face. "Squirrels attack!"

The squirrels gathered around Sugar began to charge at the villains.

"This is gonna be awesome!" Geoff cheered.

"I'm scared…" Beth mumbled.

"As long as they stay away from my hand-eyes, I'll be okay." Shawn said.

Meanwhile, the left behind Writers were back at their home base.

"Ugh… I haven't gotten to do any fighting." Scott complained. "It's so boring here."

"It's probably for the best that you stay here." Dave told him.

"Why's that?" Scott asked.

"That whole dropping Owen, Anne, and Sugar in the last challenge thing." Zoey reminded him.

"It was one time!" Scott angrily told her.

"That still isn't an excuse." Dave pointed out. "Besides, you've got a pretty useless power."

"Says the man who can make his arms fall off." Scott replied.

"Fair point." Dave admitted. "On the bright side, at least we're safer back here than out with the others."

The door swung open to reveal Jasmine on the other side.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that." Jasmine remarked.

"Dang it!" Dave exclaimed. "I need to learn not to tempt fate like that."

"She doesn't look too tough." Scott remarked.

"Maybe a boomerang to that big mouth of yours would change your tune." Jasmine told him.

Jasmine removed a boomerang from her holster and threw it at the three Writers.

It hit Dave with such force that it caused one of his arms to fall off.

"Oh my lord! Those are some powerful boomerangs!" Jasmine exclaimed as her boomerang returned and she grabbed it.

"No, it's supposed to do that." Dave replied. "Uh… Unfortunately."

Dave picked up his detached arm.

"C'mon guys, we can take her." Zoey motivated her team. "It's three to one."

"But we have the worst powers out of everyone on our team." Scott pointed out.

"True." Zoey admitted. "But we've still got strength in numbers."

"We'll see about that." Jasmine told them. "I've still got plenty of weapons left."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jasmine)**

"I actually got into the whole boomerang thing." Jasmine admitted. "As much as I don't wanna seem like a big Australian stereotype, throwing those things were pretty fun."

* * *

Jasmine took two boomerangs from her belt and threw them at the three heroes. The first one hit Zoey in the head knocking her over while the second one flew toward Scott. However, Scott turned his body to stone causing the boomerang to bounce off.

"Hmm… Now there's an interesting power." Jasmine remarked.

Scott transformed back out of his rocky form.

"C'mon guys, don't just stand there. Attack!" Scott ordered his teammates. "Now!"

The three Writers ran at Jasmine. Once Zoey was close enough she shot some orange spores at Jasmine through her fingertips. Jasmine quickly covered her mouth to avoid the spores.

"Sorry." Zoey apologized. "I know these powers are kinda gross."

Dave swung at Jasmine using his detached arm.

"That's not a very good weapon." Jasmine remarked. "It'd be more efficient to just punch me."

"Thanks for the advice." Dave replied before reattaching his arm.

Scott tackled Jasmine to the ground and wrapped his arms around her waist. He quickly turned to stone, pinning down Jasmine.

"Hey, looks like Scott's power came in handy." Zoey remarked.

"It seems so…" Jasmine muttered as she struggled to break free.

"What do we do now?" Dave asked.

"I have no idea." Zoey admitted.

"Is releasing me an option?" Jasmine asked.

"Probably not." Dave told her.

"I saw that coming." Jasmine admitted. "Well, guess I'll 'ave to escape on my own."

After struggling for a few moments more Jasmine began to roll around the room with Scott still clinging too her.

"What's your plan here?" Dave asked as he observed Jasmine's rolling around.

"Yeah, it just looks kinda ridiculous." Zoey told her.

"I'm improvising." Jasmine explained. "Not really sure where I'm going, but it sure is somewhere?"

"Should we stop her?" Zoey asked.

"I'm kinda interested in where this is going to be honest." Dave replied. "Let's watch. It's not like she can break free from Scott. He's solid stone."

Jasmine continued to roll back and forth, smashing herself between two walls as she went until Scott came out of his stone form.

"All right! That's enough!" Scott exclaimed as he let go of her. "You're making me motion sick!"

"It's about time." Jasmine remarked. "Now, it's time to take the rest of you down."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Scott)**

"As ridiculous as that whole thing was, I want the record to show that it made me very dizzy." Scott told the audience. "I had a good reason, all right."

* * *

Meanwhile, Jo was running through an alley away from Harold, Leshawna, and Anne Maria.

"All right Jo, think on your feet." Jo told herself. "Think, what other powers do I have?"

Jo peeled the symbol of a bronze ram's head off her costume became three dimensional.

"What's this one again? Taurus?" Jo guessed.

"It's Aries actually." Harold corrected. "Taurus is the bull, Aries is the ram."

"Still using it." Jo replied.

Jo threw the ram's head at the three heroes and a rocket came out the back of it. The bronze ram head hit Harold in the chest, knocking him back a few feet.

"Don't worry, I got a way we can handle this situation." Anne Maria told her team.

Anne Maria created a ball of yellow energy and threw it at Jo.

"Gah! I feel… Happy all of a sudden." Jo remarked. "Like I don't wanna fight."

"How long should this last?" Leshawna asked.

"Dunno." Anne Maria shrugged. "As long as nothing snaps her out of it we should be fine."

"C'mon, let's go find the rest of our team." Harold advised.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jo)**

"Ugh… I can't believe she did that to me _twice_." Jo complained. "I feel so violated."

* * *

Meanwhile, Max, Owen, and Sugar, as well as her squirrels, were fighting the villains that stayed behind at their base.

"Yo! Lightning! A little help here?" Geoff requested.

"Lightning's brain hurts…" Lightning muttered as he sat up. "Colour laser… Or something."

Lightning weakly shot a blast of green light at the heroes that hit Owen, toppling him over.

"Oof!" Owen exclaimed. "Hey!"

"Done now…" Lightning murmured before lying back down.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Lightning)**

"Man, that Zoey girl needs to see a doctor." Lightning remarked. "Lightning had 'bout ten difference diseases back there."

* * *

The wings on Beth's outfit flapped and she rose from the ground.

"I'm warning you I got a gun." Beth threatened. "Well… A cocoon gun. But still, a gun."

"That ain't really too threatening." Sugar told her.

"Well, it sounded like a threat to me." Beth remarked.

Beth fired off her cocoon gun but missed the heroes instead hitting some spots on and a few squirrels.

"Hmm… Sugar, I've got an idea." Max informed his companion.

"What kind of idea?" Sugar asked.

"No time to explain." Max replied. "All you need to do is hold these villains off."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Max)**

"As a real life supervillain I had the upper hand." Max bragged. "Plus, I'm pretty cunning in general."

* * *

Max ran away from his teammates and over towards the room with the gem in it.

"Hey man! You're not getting away!" Geoff exclaimed as he began to chase after Max.

"Curses!" Max exclaimed. "I did not anticipate being followed."

"You're not too good at this, little dude." Geoff told Max as he peeled a yellow polka dot from his suit.

Geoff three the now three dimensional dot at Max only to miss.

"Aw nuts." Geoff remarked.

Max made it into the gem room with Geoff hot on his trail.

"Gah! I need to hurry!" Max exclaimed as he ran at the crystal on the pedestal. "I'll show my team for making fun of my haircut! Mwahaha!"

Geoff took another dot off his suit and three it at Max, hitting him in the back of the head.

"Oof!" Max exclaimed as he fell over.

"Sorry little dude." Geoff apologized to Max. "No hard feelings though, right? It's just a game anyway."

"No! I will not be defeated by polka dots." Max angrily told him as he stood up.

Max ran at the pedestal and grabbed the gem from it.

"Man, not cool." Geoff said.

Max jumped up to the wall and began bouncing up towards the ceiling. Geoff peeled several polka dots from his outfit and began to throw them at Max who was able to bounce out of the way just in time. Max bounced off ceiling and hit Geoff, toppling him to the ground.

"I'll take my leave now." Max remarked.

"Man, not cool." Geoff said.

Max ran out of the gem room to the entrance room where Owen and Sugar were tied up by Beth's cocoon gun. Owen had cocoon gunk over his mouth.

"Hey! Can ya get us some help?" Sugar asked. "My damn squirrels ran away!"

"Sorry, but I have a valuable gem. I need to return to our base." Max told his teammates. "I'm sure you can get yourself out of this. Goodbye."

Max ran out of the room.

"Aw c'mon!" Sugar exclaimed.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Max)**

"Was that a cowardly thing to do?" Max rhetorically asked. "Incredibly. But I knew once I got back to my team base I'd be known as a hero to them."

* * *

"Did he just leave?" Shawn asked. "I wasn't pointing my hands at him."

"Yep. He's gone." Beth replied.

"We should go after him, right?" Shawn asked.

"I'll do it." Beth said. "You keep an eye on the other two."

"Lucky for you, I have ten of them." Shawn replied.

Meanwhile, at the hero's headquarters, Jasmine was still in combat with them. She grabbed a boomerang from her belt and threw it at the heroes only to miss.

"You're being really persistent about this." Dave remarked.

"Thank you." Jasmine replied.

Jasmine ran towards Zoey and threw a punch but the hero ducked out of the way just I time.

"You're surprisingly nimble." Jasmine commented. "Didn't expect that."

"Oh, um, thank you?" Zoey confusedly replied.

Jasmine swept Zoey's legs, causing her to fall over.

"Hey!" Zoey exclaimed.

Jasmine quickly ran into the gem room and grabbed the crystal from its pedestal.

"Ha! Done!" Jasmine cheered.

She turned around and saw Scott blocking the exit.

"Not so fast!" Scott exclaimed. "I'm not letting you out of here."

Scott transformed his body into stone. Jasmine approached Scott and pushed on his chest causing him to fall over.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Scott)**

"Really should've thought that out a bit better." Scott admitted.

* * *

Jasmine exited the base.

"Oh boy… We should follow him, shouldn't we?" Dave asked.

"Probably." Zoey replied.

"Crap… This is not going to go well, is it?" Dave remarked.

Meanwhile, Max was running away from Beth and Geoff through the park.

"C'mon dude, you're not gonna be able to get away from us on those stubby little legs of yours." Geoff told him.

"Yeah, you've kinda got the disadvantage here." Beth said as her wings began to flap, causing her to rise from the ground.

"I shall never give up!" Max exclaimed. "You here me? Never! Mwaha-"

Max was cut off when he ran directly into Lindsay, causing them both to fall over.

"Oh hi Mark. I was wondering where everyone went." Lindsay remarked.

"Hey! Linds! Get Max! He has our gem thingy!" Geoff shouted to her.

"Okay." Lindsay replied.

Lindsay grew to the size of a large tree and grabbed on to Max.

"Curses! Let me go!" Max exclaimed.

"Sorry, I can't." Lindsay apologized. "Then my team would lose."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Lindsay)**

"I still don't get this virtual reality challenge thing." Lindsay admitted. "It makes my brain hurt but not in a good way."

* * *

Meanwhile, Jasmine was running from Dave and Scott.

"Can you please slow down…" Dave panted. "Apparently, endurance is not one of my superpowers."

"Sorry, you'll just have to try and catch up on your own." Jasmine replied. "Enjoy the elimination ceremony."

"We'll see who'll lose." Scott remarked as he ran.

"No need to get so cocky." Jasmine told him. "You just might…"

Jasmine stopped talking and running when she saw Leshawa, Anne Maria, and Harold standing in front of her.

"Oh… I almost forgot about you guys. How are ya?" Jasmine asked.

"Just fine, thanks for asking." Anne Maria replied.

"Are you being sarcastic?" Jasmine asked.

"She's having one of her superpowered mood swings again." Leshawna explained. "Look, just hand over the gem and we won't beat you up."

"Aw, I don't wanna beat her up." Anne Maria said. "That'd be mean."

"If I'm going down it won't be without a fight." Jasmine remarked as she took two boomerangs from her belt.

She threw the boomerangs at the heroes in front of her, hitting Leshawna and Harold in their faces. Both of them were knocked to the ground. Jasmine began running away once she hit.

"Oh no ya don't!" Anne Maria exclaimed. "I'm suddenly feelin' pretty angry."

Anne Maria fired a ball of red energy from her hands. Jasmine ducked out of the way and the energy ball hit Scott.

"Gah! I'm gonna punch someone!" Scott exclaimed.

Scott ran at Jasmine and punched her, causing her to fall to her knees.

"That was quite the punch." Jasmine remarked, sounding slightly stunned.

"Heh, take it easy there." Dave told his partner.

"Don't tell me what to do." Scott snapped at him.

Just then, the jet powered head of a bronze ram hit Scott in the stomach, forcing him back a few feet.

"Hey! Quit it!" Jo exclaimed from out of view.

"Huh?" Dave murmured as he turned his head to see standing nearby.

"Oh… Hey there…" Anne Maria nervously greeted.

Jo ran up to Anne Maria and punched her in the gut.

"That's for making me act like someone else!" Jo exclaimed.

"Thanks for the help." Jasmine remarked as she stood up.

"You get that crystal to our base." Jo instructed Jasmine. "I'll take care of these guys."

Jasmine nodded and began to run.

"Not so fast." Harold told Jo as he and Leshawna stood up and put their fists together. "Wonder Twin powers activate!"

"Form of: A wolf!" Leshawna exclaimed.

"Shape of: A block of ice!" Harold cheered.

Both of them transformed into their chosen forms.

"Scott, Dave, wanna help?" Leshawna asked.

"You bet." Scott replied.

"Uh, I'll just watch for now." Dave remarked.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Dave)**

"Still pretty ticked off that my power was the worst of the bunch." Dave admitted. "And I don't even read comic books or anything like that."

* * *

Meanwhile, Max was still struggling to break free from Lindsay's grip.

"Let go of me you buffoon!" Max shouted at her as he squirmed. "I am about to win this."

"Sorry, but we kinda can't let you." Lindsay apologized.

"Bro, give it up." Geoff told him. "This is getting kinda fun to watch."

"Never!" Max exclaimed.

"Please stop. I'm actually kinda feeling sorry for you now." Beth admitted.

"I don't need your pity!" Max angrily replied.

Max bit down on one of Lindsay's fingers in his rage.

"Hey!" Lindsay exclaimed as she let go of him.

"Haha!" Max laughed before he looked down and saw that he was falling. "I did not think this through…"

Beth flew in and grabbed Max before he hit the ground.

"What the- Why did you save me?" Max asked. "Aren't you supposed to be villains?"

"Well, we want our crystal." Beth replied. "Also I'm not a real super villain. I'm just Beth."

Beth placed down Max and grabbed the gem from him.

"No! Give it back! Now!" Max exclaimed.

Just then, Jasmine ran past the three villains and Max.

"What the- Hey! I won't let you get that gem to your base!" Max shouted at her.

Max began running after Jasmine.

"You're a real persistent kid, aren't ya." Jasmine remarked.

"Incredibly." Max said as he continued to run. "Now hand over the crystal!"

"Sorry, can't do that." Jasmine told him.

"Curse you!" Max yelled.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jasmine)**

"Man, that kid is obnoxious." Jasmine commented.

* * *

Max jumped at Jasmine and grabbed her legs. This caused Jasmine to lose her balance and fall forwards. This caused her to drop her gem and it rolled up to the door of the villain's base.

"No!" Jasmine exclaimed. "Yes!"

Shawn stepped outside the base.

"What's going on out here?" Shawn asked as he pointed his hands over at Jasmine and Max.

"Shawn! You need to grab the crystal and take it inside!" Jasmine frantically instructed her boyfriend. "It's at your feet!"

Shawn pointed his hands down and saw the gem.

"Right." Shawn replied.

He cautiously picked up the crystal with the palms of his hands without using his fingers.

"Easy… Easy… Don't wanna go blind…" Shawn told himself.

Shawn made it inside his base. Once he was entirely inside Jasmine and Max began glowing blue before disappearing completely.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Shawn)**

"Although bad guys aren't supposed to win, I don't really mind it in this case." Shawn said.

* * *

Back in the real world, the visors on the contestant's helmets flipped up, bringing them out of the simulation.

"Now that was awesome to watch." Chris remarked.

"I'm glad you're all up." Sky remarked. "It was really lonely out here."

"Editors, you seem to have recovered from your previous loss." Chris told them. "Writers, you'll be attending an award ceremony. And whoever gets snubbed, doesn't get to stick around. But for now, it's time for lunch. So please, enjoy whatever Chef's cooked up this time."

The scene changed to the teams each at their separate tables in the film lot dining area. The camera focused itself on the Writers.

"Well, not only do we have to eat this slop, but now we have to be paranoid about one of us going home." Anne Maria complained. "This sucks."

"Heh, if you're not gonna eat your food I'll have it." Owen told her.

Anne Maria wordlessly pushed her tray over to Owen.

"My great grandma always told me that you gotta always look on the bright side." Sugar remarked. "Then again, she was always a little loopy."

"Y'know I don't understand you sometimes." Anne Maria remarked.

"She's always like this. Unfortunately." Dave said.

"Hey!" Sugar exclaimed.

"So… Should we discuss who we should eliminate?" Zoey asked.

"I wouldn't recommend it." Harold replied. "It'd just make us all feel uncomfortable."

"Hate to admit it, but poindexter has a point." Scott commented.

"Hmmph, why? Afraid you'll be eliminated?" Max asked.

"Why would anyone vote for me?" Scott questioned.

"I mean, you didn't help all that much." Leshawna remarked.

"Yeah, you rolled around with Jasmine and later socked her in the face. But that's it." Dave reminded him.

"That's some big talk coming from you, arm boy." Scott replied.

"Guys, can we please focus on something else?" Harold asked.

"Like what?" Zoey asked.

"Ooh, wasn't it cool to be a superhero?" Owen asked.

"Yeah, controllin' squirrels was kinda fun." Sugar admitted.

"Agreed. Despite being only able to transform into water based forms, it was pretty fun." Harold commented.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Scott)**

"The people here still seem to dislike me." Scott observed. "I need an alliance and fast. The question is: Who to form the alliance with?"

* * *

Meanwhile, over at the Angry Editor's table, the other team was celebrating their victory.

"Woohoo! We're number one!" Geoff cheered.

"Don't get so over excited." Shawn told him. "Wouldn't wanna let our guard down, would we?"

"It is a good thing we won." Sky commented. "I was really worried you'd vote for me."

"Why'd we do that?" Geoff asked.

"I was the only one to be taken out of the challenge." Sky pointed out.

"True." Jo replied. "But you also seem athletic. Plus, you're small and can fit into places others can't. That makes you an asset."

"Should I be offended by that?" Sky asked.

"Lightning thinks you should." Lightning said. "Jo's a weird dude. He says some stuff Lightning don't like sometimes."

"Again, not a guy." Jo reminded him. "Seriously, even Lindsay realizes this."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lindsay asked. "Seriously, I wasn't listening."

"It's for your own good that you didn't hear." Jo replied.

"This team is strange sometimes." Beth commented.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jasmine)**

"Despite the rocky start in the first challenge, I'm confident our team can become a powerhouse from here." Jasmine told the audience.

* * *

The scene faded to later in the day with the Writers sitting in the audience of the stage Chris was up on.

"And they say heroes always win." Chris remarked.

"Real original." Leshawna sarcastically murmured.

"Anyway, get into the makeup room and get to casting those votes for who will get the dishonour of riding the Lame-o-sine." Chris instructed the team.

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Anne Maria)**

Anne Maria held up a photo of Zoey to the camera.

"Look, Zoey, I ain't still jealous over Mike. Frankly, he ain't that cool when he's not Vito. But you haven't really been that good at any of these challenge." Anne Maria said. "So, that's why I'm voting for you."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Dave)**

Dave drew an X over a picture of Max and held it to the camera.

"You're annoying, you have an ego the size of Jupiter, and you lost the challenge for us." Dave listed off. "Good riddance."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Leshawna)**

Leshawna showed a crossed out photograph of Max to the audience.

"Sorry little guy, but you're really not helping us. At all." Leshawna said.

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Sugar)**

Sugar held a photo of Zoey with an X over it to the camera.

"I ain't really too sure 'bout who to vote for." Sugar admitted. "So I'm goin' for Zoey 'cause she's kinda quiet and all she really did in the challenge is cough on that one feller. 'Least Max is funny."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Owen)**

"Heh, I'm not really sure to vote for." Owen admitted. "I'm thinking either Scott or Max but decision making just isn't my thing. Gimme some more time."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Zoey)**

Zoey held up a picture of Sugar with an X over it.

"Look, I like to say I'm a nice person… But I'm sorry, Sugar's a bit too… Eccentric for my tastes." Zoey commented.

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Max)**

Max showed a picture of Sugar with an X on it to the camera.

"Hmmph, I didn't like her the first time around and I still don't exactly care for her." Max said. "Farewell, country girl."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Scott)**

"Right now, I'm not voting strategically." Scott admitted. "It's either Max or Sugar. Why? Because they're both annoying. I just don't know which one."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Harold)**

Harold held a picture of Scott with a red X on it to the camera.

"Strategically speaking, this is the best vote. He's the least trustworthy person here and taking him out early would help a lot." Harold explained.

* * *

The scene changed to the contestants back at the ceremony with Chris and Chef on the stage.

"So, you're all probably wondering if you get an award." Chris commented. "Well, the following contestants are safe: Harold, Leshawna, Anne Maria, Owen, and Dave."

Chef tossed each of them a Gilded Chris Award.

"Zoey, Scott, Max, and Sugar. One of you will not get to stay." Chris informed them. "But these next two Gilded Chris Awards go to…"

…

…

…

…

…

…

"… Zoey and Scott!"

Chef threw two more awards to the mentioned contestants.

"Sugar, Max, gonna be honest, most of your team does not like you." Chris told them. "But, one of you is slightly more liked. And that one is…"

…

…

…

…

…

…

"… Sugar!"

Chef tossed the final golden Chris statue to Sugar.

"Woo! I'm number one! I'm number on!" Sugar cheered herself on.

"Yeah, that isn't pathetic." Scott remarked.

"No! This is unfair! I demand a recount!" Max yelled. "I will not budge from this spot until justice is served!"

"Chef, get him." Chris instructed his co host.

"Sure thing, boss." Chef replied.

Chef went up to Max and grabbed him.

"What are you doing? Unhand me this instant!" Max demanded.

"Try and leave with some dignity." Chef told him.

Chef made it up to the limousine and placed Max inside of it.

"This won't be the last you hear of me!" Max shouted from inside the vehicle as it drove off. "Soon you'll all bow before me when I am ruler of this puny planet! Mwahaha!"

The camera cut back to Chris on stage.

"I'm going to miss that guy. Not because I like him. But because he annoys everyone else." Chris said before turning to the audience. "Who else will I miss? Probably not a lot but you'll have to find out next time. On Total. Drama. Winners!"

* * *

 **Votes:**

Anne Maria - Zoey

Dave - Max

Harold - Scott

Leshawna - Max

Max - Sugar

Owen - Max

Scott - Max

Sugar - Zoey

Zoey - Sugar

 **Results:**

Max - 4 votes

Sugar - 2 votes

Zoey - 2 votes

Scott - 1 vote

 **Eliminated** **:**

Mike, the Nice Guy (18th Place)

Max, the Super Villain (17th Place)

* * *

 **Well, that certainly was fun to write. I usually don't do chapters with this much action so I hope it turned out okay. Hopefully it wasn't too long for you either. Also, I'm not a huge comic reader so if I got anything wrong about the powers of the characters in this chapter please let me know. I also realize that a few of the characters were updated to be cooler eventually but for comic effect I left them in their less cool era. As for Max's elimination, I had no real ideas for him other than comic relief. Sorry to any Max fan's out there. Anyway, please be sure to leave a review if you have anything you want to say about the chapter. Thanks for reading.**


	4. The Film Lot Chainsaw Massacre

**Well, here's the chapter now. Hopefully you enjoy it. I certainly had fun writing it. Oh, by the way, once again, if you have any genres or specific movies you want me to theme challenges after please be sure to let me know because I'm always open to suggestions. Anyway, you can get to reading. I'll let you know more stuff later.**

* * *

"Last time, on Total Drama Winners. The virtual reality machine gave our teams super powers. Just not the ones they would've hoped for." A clip of Shawn looking around in confusion at his strange super power played. "Despite everyone having somewhat dangerous super powers, not many people actually got hurt. Sky ended up getting the worst of it though." Footage of Sky accidentally being crushed by Lindsay was shown. "In the end, the bad guys, or rather the Editors, won and Writers ended up getting rid of Max because not only was he a terrible superhero, but he was also just terrible in general." Footage of Max being forced into the Lame-o-sine by Chef was seen next.

The footage changed to Chris standing in front of the trailers the contestants were living in.

"Which of these colourful characters will be leaving next?" Chris continued. "You'll have to stick around and find out on, Total. Drama. Winners!"

* * *

 **(Theme Song)**

* * *

The camera faded in on an early morning with both teams eating breakfast in the canteen.

"Okay, I know I'm gonna regret this… But what's in this stuff?" Zoey asked as she poked some yellow stuff on her plate.

"I actually asked." Harold replied. "Chef told me he started making an omelette with onions and cheddar but then it turned into scrambled eggs."

"Oh, that don't sound so bad." Sugar remarked.

"Knowing Chef he probably messed it up even worse than that." Leshawna said.

"Heh, you all can give me your food if you want." Owen told his teammates.

"Here. I'll just go find a vending machine or something." Anne Maria commented as she brushed her meal on to Owen's plate.

"You can have mine too." Scott decided as he gave his plate to Owen. "Personally, I trust Chef's food about as far as I can throw it… Wait, that's probably be pretty far."

"Awesome." Owen remarked.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm getting some fresh air." Dave decided. "See you all later."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Dave)**

"To be honest, my team is weird. At the very least, Max isn't here." Dave said. "I hope I find one of those idols. Challenges aren't exactly my strong suit."

* * *

The camera moved over to the Writers' table.

"So what do you think the next challenge will be?" Beth asked.

"Ooh! I hope it's a romantic comedy themed challenge." Lindsay said. "There's no way anything bad can happen there."

"Lightning hopes it's a sports movie." Lightning remarked. "That'd be awesome!"

"Yeah, a sports movie would be pretty cool." Jo admitted. "We do have the best athletes on our team."

"Are you talking about me?" Geoff asked.

"No idiot, I was referring to Jasmine and Sky." Jo replied.

"Oh, thank you." Sky said.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jasmine)**

"Jo's beginning to grow on me. Especially after she saved my hide in the last challenge." Jasmine said. "I'm still gonna keep an eye on 'er though. Just in case she's planning something."

* * *

"I don't know about all you, but I'm going to go… Sight seeing." Shawn told his team. "Goodbye."

Shawn stood up and left the table.

"I should probably go too. It's always good to go for a jog." Jo remarked as she stood up.

"Yeah, getting your morning exercise is always important." Sky agreed before getting up as well.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Beth)**

"If they were all gonna look for those idols the least they could've done was be subtle about it." Beth said.

* * *

The scene changed to later with Sky walking through one of the abandoned warehouses in the film lot.

"Man, this place is kinda creepy." Sky remarked. "But it looks like a good place to hide a statue."

The sound of something falling was heard in the room.

"Huh? Who's there?" Sky asked. "Show yourself."

Dave stepped out of the shadows nearby.

"Sorry, it's only me." Dave apologized. "I was also looking for one of those statues."

"Oh… Hello Dave." Sky greeted, sounding uncomfortable."

"Hey…" Dave replied, seeming equally awkward.

"So, uh, it's some nice weather we're having today." Sky tried to strike up conversation.

"Yeah, pretty… Average." Dave said.

There was a long pause between the two of them.

"Should we talk about what happened last time we were on the show?" Sky asked. "Would that make you uncomfortable?"

"No, of course not. It'll be healthy to talk." Dave responded.

There was another pause of neither of them waiting for the other to say something.

"So, aren't you going to say anything?" Sky asked. "An explanation? An apology? Something?"

"An apology? Why should I apologize?" Dave asked.

"For trying to maim me." Sky pointed out.

"Okay, fine, that was definitely the worst thing I've ever done." Dave admitted. "And for that I'm sorry. But still, you have to admit that it was at least partially you fault."

"In what way is it my fault?" Sky asked.

"You had so many chances to tell me you had a boyfriend but you never told me when it was a good chance." Dave told her.

"Why can't you just admit that it's your fault?" Sky asked.

"You first." Dave replied.

The two of them stormed off in different directions.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sky)**

"Ugh!" Sky angrily grumbled. "Why can't he just admit it's his fault?"

* * *

 **(Confessional: Dave)**

"Grr! I just want her to admit that she's at the very least _most_ of the reason our relationship didn't work out." Dave said. "Is that too much to ask?"

* * *

The camera cut to a close up on the film lot speakers.

"Morning teams!" Chris enthusiastically greeted through the speaker system. "Enjoyed breakfast? Good. Meet me and Chef down in studio eight."

The scene changed to the teams gathering in the studio that housed the virtual reality machine where Chris and Chef were waiting.

"Did you enjoy Chef's scrambled omelette?" Chris asked.

"I'm thinking of auditioning for one of those cooking reality show's." Chef told the contestants.

"Don't quit your day job." Shawn remarked.

Chef scowled at Shawn.

"Anyway, I'm sure you're all very curious about this challenge, right?" Chris asked.

"Please say you're putting us in a romantic comedy." Lindsay begged.

"Nope. In fact, it's kind of in the opposite direction." Chris replied.

"What's that 'sposed to mean?" Scott asked.

"Horror movies!" Chris announced. "No movie in particular. Just horror as a genre. Won't that be fun?"

"Um… No." Zoey replied.

"Too bad!" Chris said.

"What are the rules here?" Harold asked.

"Well for starters, you're all gonna be on the run from a slasher." Chris informed them. "Originally, we planned to have this killer player by none other than everyone's favourite supervillain: Scarlett. But it was deemed "Too dangerous". Frankly, I don't see it. So instead, we're bringing in-"

All of a sudden, Izzy jumped down from the ceiling and landed on top of Chris.

"Izzy!" Izzy finished Chris' sentence.

"Thank you..." Chris muttered.

Izzy got off of the hosts' back.

"Ahem, as you can see, Izzy will be playing our horror movie villain." Chris explained as he stood up.

"Yeah! Izzy gets a hockey mask and a chainsaw!" Izzy cheered.

"Izzy, you're mixing up two different horror movie villains." Harold informed her. "Gosh, that's basic knowledge."

"No interruptions please." Chris told Harold. "Now, in this challenge you will be transported to a mostly abandoned town."

"What do you mean by mostly abandoned?" Scott asked.

"Well, obviously you'll be there and Izzy's gonna be there as our favourite serial killer." Chris explained. "But there will be a few other people that will be generated by the machine that you might meet. Anyway, the goal of this challenge is to escape the town without being mangled by Izzy. But you will all be split up at first and have to regroup before escaping. As usual, if the other team is killed off entirely, your team wins."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Leshawna)**

"Givin' Izzy a weapon, even if it's a virtual one, can only end in disaster." Leshawna remarked. "Guess that's what Chris was goin' for though."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Scott)**

"I just want to say I am one hundred percent against that lunatic being anywhere near me." Scott told the audience. "Let alone in a way where she's allowed to kill me."

* * *

"Woohoo! This is gonna be fun!" Izzy cheered.

"It doesn't sound fun." Lindsay remarked.

"Well, for me." Izzy said.

"All right teams, get into that machine." Chris instructed them.

The teams, as well as Izzy, got into their chairs and put on their helmets.

"Have fun. And try not to get killed." Chris told them.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Shawn)**

"I think I had an advantage in the challenge." Shawn remarked. "After all, if my tactics work on zombies, they'll also work on slashers."

* * *

Inside the virtual world, Sugar, Anne Maria, and Zoey awoke in a car outside a gas station at night. Zoey sat in the front seat with Sugar in the passenger seat and Anne Maria in the back.

"Huh, where are we?" Zoey asked as she woke up.

"Yeesh, this place is creepy." Anne Maria remarked.

"Where's the rest of our team?" Sugar asked.

"Weren't ya payin' attention?" Anne Maria replied. "Chris said we'd be split up."

"I wasn't really listenin'." Sugar admitted. "I saw a weirdly shaped stain on the floor."

"Should we go into that gas station?" Zoey asked.

"Well, we gotta start somewhere." Anne Maria said.

The three girls exit the car and enter the gas station where they saw a creepy looking one eyed man at the counter.

"Howdy strangers. What're you doin' all the way out here?" The man asked, with a creepy looking smile on his face.

"Just passin' through." Sugar told him.

"Do ya know the fastest way out of town." Anne Maria asked.

"I reckon ya just keep drivin' 'til there's no road left." The man replied.

"That's not helpful." Zoey remarked. "Just vague and slightly ominous."

"Vague and slightly ominous is my middle name, girlie." The one eyed man said. "'Course, if you're lookin' for other ways outta town there's always the train station."

"Which way's that?" Sugar asked.

"Can't recall." The strange man responded. "Don't worry. I'm sure you'll find it just fine."

"Well, thanks… I guess." Zoey said.

"You watch yourselves 'round here." The man advised the girls. "There've been a few murders in these parts. I'm sure you'll be find though."

The three girls exited the gas station.

"Well, that guy was creepy and useless." Anne Maria remarked. "C'mon, let's see if we can find this train station."

"Either of you know how to drive?" Zoey asked. "I just take the bus everywhere at home."

"I"ll drive." Anne Maria told her as she entered the car.

The two other girls followed suit and got into the car together.

"How 'bout some music?" Sugar suggested. "That'd lighten the mood."

"That sounds fun." Zoey remarked. "Let's see what's on the radio."

Zoey turned the radio on and some music immediately began playing.

" _I always feel like somebody's watching me."_

"Nope. Not helping." Zoey said as she changed the station.

" _She's a maniac, maniac, I know sure."_

"That's possibly even worse." Zoey remarked, changing the station again.

" _Psycho killer, qu'est-ce que c'est."_

Anne Maria abruptly turned the radio off.

"'Kay, clearly the music is against us." Anne Maria said. "Let's just drive in silence."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Zoey)**

"I had a really bad feeling." Zoey remarked. "We were taking the advice of a one eyed man. That could only end in disaster."

* * *

Meanwhile, Shawn, Lightning, and Lindsay woke up on a stone bench in the middle of a cemetery.

"Sha-damn, this place is freaky already." Lightning commented.

"Ew, a graveyard?" Lindsay said. "I don't like thinking about all the dead people under me."

"At least these dead guys will stay that way." Shawn remarked. "I hope."

"What should we do now?" Lightning asked.

"Well, to start off, let's get a change of scenery." Shawn suggested. "Somewhere nice like a fallout shelter or a weapons shop."

"That doesn't sound much better." Lindsay said.

"Does to me." Shawn remarked.

"Gotta agree with Blondie." Lightning admitted. "Your idea of nice is weird."

"Let's just get out of this cemetery first." Shawn suggested. "That seems like it'd be a good start."

The other two nodded and the trio began walking through the graveyard together.

"So which way's the exit?" Lindsay asked.

"I don't know." Shawn admitted. "I'm sure it won't be that hard."

They kept walking until Lightning spotted an open grave out of the corner of his eye.

"Whoa, what's that?" Lightning asked as he stopped.

"Probably nothing." Shawn told him.

"I wanna see too." Lindsay remarked as she stopped.

"Fine." Shawn said.

The three of them approached the open grave and saw that there were too more of them.

"Hey, that's my name." Lindsay commented as she pointed to a name on the headstone above the middle grave that read "Lindsay Wainwright".

"Huh, that's sha-creepy." Lightning said.

"Heh heh, that's my name too." Shawn nervously observed as he pointed to the name on the headstone to the left that read "Shawn Riordan".

"Good thing your name isn't on there, right Lightning." Lindsay said, pointing to the final headstone that read "Rudolph Jackson".

"Nuh uh, that's Lightning's real name." Lightning told her. "How's he even know that? Lightning never told Chris."

"Chris is just trying to scare us." Shawn remarked. "L-let's just go somewhere else."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Shawn)**

"Man, Chris is one messed up guy." Shawn commented.

* * *

Meanwhile, Harold, Leshawna, and Owen woke up lying on the ground next to a farmhouse.

"What the- Where the heck are we?" Leshawna asked.

"Man, the dirt is really hard." Owen remarked as he stood up.

"Hmm… Where are we?" Harold wondered while getting up.

"Some sort of a farm from the looks of it." Leshawna said, standing up.

"We should focus on finding the rest of our team." Harold suggested. "Let's see if anyone lives here."

The three of them approached the door to the farmhouse and Leshawna knocked on the door.

"Anyone home?" Leshawna asked.

The door swung open to reveal a grizzled older man wielding a shotgun and looking quite unhinged.

"Who's there?! If you're here to rob me I ain't goin' down without a fight!" The farmer exclaimed.

"Heh… We just want directions." Owen explained.

"Where ya headin'?" The farmer questioned.

"Is there a way to get out of town?" Harold asked.

"Well, usually you just drive out but there's been an accident recently." The farmer replied. "Real shame. Whole road's blocked out. Only way out right now is the train. Or you could just walk out… But be careful. There's some wild axe killer on the loose."

"You think you can give us a ride into town?" Owen asked.

"'Course I can, stranger. I ain't got much goin' on 'round here." The farmer said. "But my pickup truck's pretty small. Two of you'll have to sit in the back."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Harold)**

"Usually, you shouldn't trust creepy old farmers. In most horror films, they'd be a cannibal." Harold stated. "But since I already knew Izzy was the killer, I thought I'd be fine."

* * *

Meanwhile, Jasmine, Beth, and Geoff were waking up lying on the beach.

"Huh, where'd Chris put us?" Beth wondered as she got up.

"Awesome a beach." Geoff remarked, standing up. "I could get used to them."

"Hmm, not where I thought we'd be." Jasmine said before getting up. "I pictured a secluded cabin or an abandoned theme park. But I don't mind this."

"Where should we go now?" Beth asked.

"Well little dudette, we're at a beach. So there's probably a boardwalk or something like that nearby." Geoff answered. "Let's go look."

Jasmine looked behind her and saw a wood staircase built into the side of a cliff leading to the town above them.

"That definitely looks like something." Jasmine remarked. "Let's check that out."

The three of them began walking up the stairs.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Beth)**

"Y'know I didn't really see why Chris chose to start us at a beach." Beth admitted. "Nothing really scary about that… Except for maybe sharks."

* * *

The trio reached the top of the stairs and found themselves in a touristy area of the town.

"This place seems pretty nice." Geoff remarked. "I wouldn't mind dying here… I mean, I probably would, but less than normal."

"I don't like it here. Something's really off about this place." Jasmine commented. "It's too quiet."

Geoff looked around and saw a newspaper on a public rack that caught his eye.

"Hang on, what's this?" Geoff asked, picking up the newspaper and reading from it. "Two teens murdered at beach... Huh, that's probably not good."

"Certainly is ominous." Jasmine commented. "Fits in with the theme too."

"Heh, there are a bunch of us. The chances of Izzy finding us low." Beth told her companions. "Right?"

"Let's hope so little dude." Geoff replied.

Meanwhile, Dave and Scott woke up in chairs in the lobby of a hotel.

"Huh? Where am I now?" Scott questioned.

"Who cares, we're probably going to get killed by some loon with a machete." Dave grumpily replied.

"Oh, great. You gonna complain the whole time?" Scott asked Dave.

"Aw man, I'm stuck with you too, aren't I?" Dave complained.

"Listen buddy, I'm not too big on being saddled with you either." Scott told him.

"Ahem, may I help either of you gentlemen?" A female from behind the two boys asked.

They turned around and saw a young woman at the front desk.

"Hi there." Dave greeted the receptionist as he and Scott approached the front desk. "Can we get some help?"

"Of course." The receptionist replied. "What can I help you with?"

"For starters you can tell us what this place is." Scott responded.

"This is the McLean Hotel. One of the best hotels in town." The receptionist explained.

"Hmmph, small ego on Chris." Scott sarcastically remarked.

"Do you know what the quickest way out of town is?" Dave asked.

"I'm sorry sir, I don't really know. It really depends on where you're going." The receptionist said. "We've got a train as well as a boat."

"Hmm…" Scott murmured before looking at Dave. "C'mon, let's just look around 'til we find out team."

Dave nodded.

"Do you have the number for a cab service?" Scott asked the receptionist.

"Yes sir." The receptionist replied. "Be sure to keep an eye on your driver. There's a killer on the loose right now."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Scott)**

"Gotta say… Nothing that scary has happened yet." Scott admitted. "But usually horror movies start out normal so I should keep my guard up."

* * *

The scene changed to Jo and Sky waking up on a bench in front of an old mansion.

"Hmm, this place doesn't look so bad." Jo remarked.

"Yeah, well, it probably is a lot worse than it looks." Sky replied. "Horror movies have a habit of doing that."

"Well, no time to waste." Jo said as she stood up from the bench. "Let's go find the rest of our team while avoiding being hacked to bits."

"Huh? Oh yeah. That's probably a good idea." Sky agreed while she got up too.

Jo looked around and saw a middle aged man cutting the grass behind the gates of the mansion they were in front of.

"Hey! Over here!" Jo shouted over to the man. "Can we get a little help."

The groundskeeper reluctantly turned his lawnmower off and approached the girls.

"Whadda you want?" The groundskeeper grumpily questioned.

"What's the fastest way to get out of town?" Sky asked.

"How'm I 'sposed to know?" The groundskeeper replied. "I'm just paid to keep this place clean. We've got a train station. That's about it. Now both of ya scram. I have actual work to do."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sky)**

"Yeesh, you'd think a virtual guy would be nicer." Sky remarked.

* * *

"So, should we look for this train station?" Jo asked.

"It's our best bet for now." Sky replied.

"All right. But if this is a dead end, I'm blaming you." Jo told her.

"Of course you are…" Sky sighed.

Meanwhile, Anne Maria, Sugar, and Zoey were continuing to drive through the town.

"I don't see anything." Zoey remarked. "Do you know where we're going?"

"This is a fake town I've never been to. Of course I have no idea what I'm doing." Anne Maria replied.

"Can we please turn that music back on?" Sugar asked. "I kinda liked it."

"That music wasn't really helping." Anne Maria said. "I betcha that if we turned it on right now it'll be playin' some song about serial killers."

"Anne, I feel like we're lost." Zoey commented. "We never asked that gas station guy for directions."

"It's a train station. How hard could it be to find?" Anne Maria asked.

"I dunno, this place seems kinda big." Sugar told her.

"Fine. We'll ask for directions." Anne Maria said.

Anne Maria parked the car on the curb near a building called "Madam Fantastica's House of Oddities".

"This place doesn't look like it'll be all that helpful." Zoey commented.

"Can ya stop complaining?" Anne Maria asked. "Now c'mon, let's see if this place has a map."

The three girls got out of the car and entered the building. The place was full of masks, vases, and various occult looking objects. A woman approached the trio.

"Greetings, it's good to have a visitor." The woman said.

"Are you this Madam Fantastica lady from the sign outside?" Sugar asked.

"Uh, no, she's busy right now." The woman replied. "I'm her assistant. Would you like a tour?"

"No, thanks, we're just looking for the train station." Anne Maria explained. "You know where that is?"

"I think so." The woman said. "I'll write down the directions for you. But still, I would like to be sure, do you want a tour?"

"I said no." Anne Maria replied.

"I want one!" Sugar cheered.

"Great." The woman said.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Anne Maria)**

"Sugar ain't that smart." Anne Maria commented. "Then again, neither am I. But she's dumber than me so I think I'm able to judge her just a little."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sugar)**

"Anne Maria's a little pushy." Sugar commented. "'Course, that's what it takes to win a pageant so I ain't totally against her."

* * *

Meanwhile, Shawn, Lightning, and Lindsay were walking through the cemetery.

"Which way is out?" Lindsay asked.

"I don't know." Shawn admitted. "But I have a feeling we're getting close."

"Man, where's that screwy Izzy chick?" Lightning asked. "Lightning ain't seein' her anywhere."

"She's probably hiding somewhere." Shawn replied.

"Maybe she forgot she was supposed to be killing us?" Lindsay suggested.

"She looked crazy, but not stupid." Shawn said. "She's probably just waiting for the right time."

The trio walked by a tree and a pair of eyes opened up in darkness of the tree above them. Izzy jumped down from the tree wielding a machete.

"Hiya!" Izzy greeted the three teens. "Were you talking about Izzy?"

"Oh… Hey there." Lindsay nervously replied.

"Sorry, but Izzy's gotta stab you now." Izzy informed them. "No hard feelings."

"Run!" Lightning screamed.

"Follow my lead, I know what I'm doing." Shawn said as he began to run.

The two others began following him.

"Ooh, don't run without Izzy. You look like you're havin fun." Izzy remarked.

Izzy ran after them.

The camera focused on Lightning, Lindsay, and Shawn.

"What's the plan?" Lightning asked as the three of them ran.

"I think I see an exit." Shawn replied. "Once we're out we can find a hiding spot."

The three of them reached the exit gate to the cemetery and ran through it.

"Now where do we go?" Lindsay asked.

Shawn looked around and saw a nearby antiques shop.

"There!" Shawn exclaimed, pointing to the shop.

The three of them ducked into the store and hid behind a leather couch inside the shop.

"Are we safe?" Lindsay asked.

"I don't know." Shawn replied.

"Should I check?" Lightning asked.

An elderly shopkeeper approached the three of them from behind.

"Excuse me, what are you doing in my shop?" The shopkeeper asked.

"Would you believe we're being chased by a serial killer?" Shawn asked.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Lindsay)**

"Izzy was kinda scary." Lindsay remarked. "I didn't really see that coming."

* * *

The scene changed to Leshawna, Harold, and Owen were in the pickup truck with the farmer. Owen was in front with the farmer while Leshawna and Harold rode in the back.

"I can't believe I have to sit back here." Leshawna remarked. "This wind's starting to hurt."

"It could be worse." Harold replied.

"How?" Leshawna asked. "You'd better not say "It could be raining" 'cause it'll start raining the moment you say it."

"Right." Harold noted. "I will not say that."

There was a brief pause as they drove.

"Uh, Leshawna, I was curious about something and seeing as nothing's happening… I'd like to ask you something." Harold spoke up.

"Oh no, what is it?" Leshawna replied.

"Well… I'm not sure if you could tell but I still have feelings for you." Harold said.

"I figured it out. Don't worry." Leshawna told him.

"So, in that case. Are the feelings returned?" Harold asked.

"Look, Harold, sweetie, you're one of the nicest guys I've met." Leshawna replied. "But I don't really ever see us like that again."

"Only time will tell." Harold remarked. "I really think we'd be a good couple."

"You may be right. I just don't see it happenin' any time soon." Leshawna told him.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Leshawna)**

"Harold's a good guy, he really is." Leshawna commented. "Don't really see me dating him."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Harold)**

"I'll respect Leshawna's boundaries." Harold told the audience. "Still… I think we might be able to get together some day."

* * *

Meanwhile, Owen was in the front of the truck with the farmer.

"Heh… So, what's on the radio?" Owen asked.

"Radio's broken." The farmer replied. "I got some music on CD though. You can play that. It's in the glove compartment."

Owen opened the glove compartment and looked over some CDs.

"Ooh, Blondie's Greatest Hits." Owen read one of the CDs before grabbing it.

He took the disc from that album and inserted it in to the truck's CD player and the music began playing.

" _One way or another, I'm gonna find ya, I'm gonna getcha getcha getcha!"_

"Uh… Can I skip this one?" Owen asked.

"You kiddin'? This is one of my favourites." The farmer replied.

The scene changed to Jasmine, Beth, and Geoff walking around the part of town near the beach.

"Where are we going?" Beth asked.

"I dunno, man." Geoff replied.

"We're trying to find something that can 'elp." Jasmine said. "Granted, I don't know what that is."

The three of them continued to walk down the street.

"Hey, I think I see something." Beth remarked as she pointed ahead.

The other two looked up and saw two figures ahead.

"Let's see who it is." Jasmine suggested.

The trio approached the two figures and discovered that they were Jo and Sky.

"Oh, hey there, man." Geoff greeted. "What are you doin' out here?"

"Trying to find a train station." Jo explained.

"Do any of you know where to find one?" Sky asked.

"We've kinda just been wandering around." Jasmine admitted.

"So have we." Sky replied. "We don't actually know where to go."

"Well, don't go the way we came from." Geoff advised. "It's just beach."

"Good to know." Jo remarked. "Where should we go in that case?"

"Maybe we should retrace our steps?" Sky suggested to Jo.

"Why not. I doubt anyone would build a train station by the beach." Jo remarked.

"First we should find the rest of our team." Jasmine suggested. "We need to make sure they're safe."

"Meh, I'm sure they're fine." Jo brushed her off. "Or at the very least, that zombie guy is safe."

"His name is Shawn." Jasmine informed her.

"Whatever." Jo said.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jasmine)**

"It's when she says stuff like that. That's the sort of thing that makes me distrust her." Jasmine commented.

* * *

Meanwhile, Dave and Scott were walking through the streets together.

"Do you have an idea at all to what you're doing?" Dave asked.

"Absolutely not." Scott admitted. "Don't worry, I'm sure we'll figure something out. Our team has to be around here…. Not sure where."

"What's the point. We have no idea where we are or where are team is." Dave said.

"Will you please quit the complaining?" Scott asked. "You haven't been this annoying until now."

"Sorry, I just have a lot on my mind." Dave replied.

"Don't care." Scott told him.

"I'm gonna tell you anyway." Dave told him.

"Great." Scott sarcastically replied.

"Me and Sky got in to an argument this morning." Dave explained to him. "And it's just been bugging me all day. Why can't she just admit that it's at the very least, sixty percent, her fault."

"I don't care about your love life." Scott grumpily responded. "Now shut up. We need to find our team and keep an eye out for Izzy."

A pair of headlights turned on from an alley the two boys were passing causing them to freeze up.

"Should we be worried about that?" Dave asked.

"Hey guys! Check out this awesome car I hijacked!" Izzy called from inside the car.

"Run." Scott told Dave.

The two of them began running as Izzy revved up her new car.

"I have no idea how to drive this thing!" Izzy proclaimed.

Izzy drove out of the alley and began following Dave and Scott down the sidewalk in her car.d

"C'mon guys, it's not gonna hurt!" Izzy shouted over to them.

"I doubt that highly!" Dave shouted back.

"Follow me." Scott told his teammate.

Scott grabbed Dave by the collar and pulled him into an alley way.

"This is your plan?!" Dave questioned in a panic. "Lead us to a dead end!"

"I think I saw a fire escape." Scott explained.

Scott led Dave over to a fire escape with an open ladder and they both began climbing up. Izzy exited her car with her machete and ran at the two boys.

"Guys! I just wanna introduce you to my big knife!" Izzy exclaimed. "I promise not to stab you!"

"We still don't believe you!" Scott shouted down to her as he pulled up the ladder so she couldn't follow.

"Aw, you guys are no fun." Izzy remarked. "It'll take way too long to find a way up. I'm just gonna find someone else now. But remember…. I'll be back!"

Izzy began laughing maniacally before running away.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Dave)**

"She's even scarier in real life than she is on TV." Dave commented.

* * *

Meanwhile, Anne Maria, Sugar, and Zoey continued to drive.

"I'm bored." Sugar complained. "Can we stop for snacks? I've got a hankerin' for some nachos."

"So this is what being parent on a road trip is like…" Anne Maria muttered to herself.

"Ya didn't answer my question. Are ya listening to me?" Sugar asked.

"We wasted way too much time at the creepy fortune teller chick's place." Anne Maria told Sugar.

"Can we at least stop and use the rest room?" Zoey asked. "I really have to go."

"Just hold it. None of this stuff is real. Remember?" Anne Maria pointed out.

"Fine." Zoey replied.

"Hey, don't we know them?" Sugar asked, pointing at something out the window.

Anne Maria stopped the car and looked in the direction her was pointing. She saw Dave and Scott walking down the street.

"Hey! Guys!" Zoey shouted over to them. "We have a car!"

"You're not gonna run us over with it, right?" Dave jokingly asked.

"Huh?" Sugar confusedly replied.

"Long story." Scott replied. "We hade a run in with Izzy. Can we get in your car?"

"Why do ya think I've stopped?" Anne Maria rhetorically asked.

The two boys entered the car.

"So do any of you guys know where our team is?" Scott asked.

"Not a clue." Zoey replied.

"Well… Crap." Scott said.

Meanwhile, Lindsay, Shawn, and Lightning are cautiously walking down the street in town.

"You don't that Lizzy's around here somewhere, do you?" Lindsay asked.

"Hard to say. I think we should be safe though." Shawn commented.

"Where are we goin' now?" Lightning asked.

"I don't know." Shawn admitted.

"Maybe we should ask for some directions." Lightning suggested.

The three of them saw someone ahead in the street and approached them.

"Hi, do you know which way is out of town?" Lindsay asked.

"Well, all roads lead somewhere." The man replied.

"That doesn't help." Shawn pointed out.

"You can try the train station." The man told them. "Oh, and maybe a boat down by the docks too. But be careful. There's-"

"We know, there's a serial killer." Shawn interrupted.

"Oh, no, I was gonna say there's a sale at the supermarket near the station and it might be crowded." The man explained.

* * *

 **(Confession: Lightning)**

"Man, this place can get sha-weird sometimes." Lightning remarked.

* * *

Meanwhile, Owen, Harold, and Leshawana were getting off the car the farmer had driven them in at the edge of town.

"Thanks for the lift." Owen told the farmer.

"No problem." The farmer replied. "Now you kids watch yourself. It can be dangerous out here."

The farmer began to laugh in an evil fashion before abruptly stopping.

"Sorry, just remembered a funny scene from this one movie." The farmer explained. "Bye."

The pickup truck quickly drove off.

"So, where do you think the rest of our team is?" Harold asked. "I suggest we go downtown."

"Well, I'm comin' up blank so why not." Leshawna agreed with Harold.

The three of them began walking past various stores in the town.

"You think we could get a bite to eat?" Owen asked.

"It's impossible to be hungry." Leshawna pointed out. "Simulation, remember?

"I know. All these shops just sound like they have really good food." Owen said.

Jus then, a machete drops down from above them, sticking itself in the ground next to Harold.

"Gosh! That is not good!" Harold exclaimed as he jumped into Leshawna's arms.

"Aw shoot. Izzy missed." Izzy remarked from out of view.

Izzy jumped down from a roof on the building above and picked up her machete.

"Well hey there." Izzy greeted. "Mind if Izzy impales you with this thingy?"

"Um… I'd rather not." Owen replied.

"Don't worry Owen, Izzy likes you." Izzy told him. "She's saving you for last."

"Oh… Thanks… I think." Owen uncomfortably said.

"But as for the rest of you…" Izzy began as she turned around and saw that Leshawna and Harold already began running. "Aw dang it..."

"Ooh! Wait up!" Owen exclaimed as he began running after the rest of his team.

"Is running really the best course of action?" Harold asked as he ran.

"You got any better ideas?" Leshawna replied.

"Guys! Guys! Don't go so fast!" Owen shouted as he struggled to catch up.

"C'mon guys, it's so hard to catch up." Izzy commented as she ran to catch up.

Harold spots an oncoming bus and stops at the bus stop where it should pick him up.

"Uh, why are you stopping?" Leshawna asked as she stopped with him. "There's a deranged lady with an oversized kitchen knife after us!"

"Just one moment…" Harold told her.

The bus pulled up to them and Harold stepped inside. The other two quickly followed.

"Here you go." Harold said to the driver, handing him some fare for the ride. "Now drive, quickly."

"All right then." The driver replied before closing the doors and driving away.

"Phew, heh, talk about a close call." Owen remarked.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Leshawna)**

"Harold got lucky back there." Leshawna commented. "There was almost no way we'd have been able to get on that bus in time. Yet somehow, we managed."

* * *

Meanwhile, the Editors, minus Lindsay, Lighting, and Shawn, were walking down a street.

"I'm worried." Beth remarked. "I haven't seen Lindsay in a while. I sure hope she's okay."

"Can we please just focus on the task at hand?" Jo requested. "We need to find that damn train station."

"I still say it's a bigger priority to find the rest of our team." Jasmine told Jo.

"Will you please just zip it so we can find this mythical train station that I just can't seem to find?" Jasmine replied.

"Is that it?" Geoff asked, pointing to a train station up ahead.

"Yes… That would appear to be it." Jo replied.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jo)**

"How did it take me so long to find something so obvious!? Come on!" Jo exclaimed.

* * *

"Well, we're here." Sky remarked. "So… Should we wait for the others?"

"We sorta have to." Geoff pointed out. "Chris said we can't complete the challenge if the others aren't here."

"Huh… I should've though this out a bit more." Jo admitted.

"Well, admitting you were wrong is the first step." Jasmine remarked.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jasmine)**

"Okay… I sounded a bit too smug back there." Jasmine admitted. "Still, it was pretty stupid of Jo to go to the station without finding the rest of the team."

* * *

Meanwhile, the Writers, without Leshawna, Harold, and Owen, were driving around the city.

"See anything yet?" Zoey asked.

"No! No I don't!" Anne Maria yelled.

"Whoa, are you okay?" Dave asked.

"Do I sound okay?" Anne Maria asked. "I've been drivin' around and I can't find a damn thing. Can someone take over for me. I'm through."

Anne Maria parked the car by the curb.

"Are you seriously doing this?" Scott asked.

"Yes, yes I am." Anne Maria replied. "I'm sick of drivin' you all around. Someone else take the wheel from me."

"Anne, please just drive." Zoey told her.

"Yeah, we ain't got time for this." Sugar added.

"All right, I'm steppin' out of the car now." Anne Maria said as she unlocked the car door and got out. "I

ain't gettin' back in 'til one of you drives."

"All right, fine, I'll drive." Scott reluctantly agreed. "Just please stop whining."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Scott)**

"I technically don't have a driver's license." Scott admitted. "But number one, this was virtual, number two, I've driven a tractor at the farm enough times to know what to do, and number three, Anne Maria was really starting to annoy me."

* * *

Meanwhile, Lindsay, Lightning, and Shawn were walking around.

"I'm bored. We haven't found anything interesting." Lindsay remarked. "And I'm tired of walking around."

"Yeah, Lightning wants to do something cool." Lightning added.

"So do I." Shawn replied. "But first, we need to find the rest of our team."

"This town is confusing." Lindsay said. "I have no idea where to go."

"Can everyone please stop talking?" Shawn requested. "I need a few moments to get some things straight."

"Yo, is that what we've been lookin' out for?" Lightning asked, pointing to the train station.

"Ha! Yes!" Shawn cheered. "Finally."

Shawn grabbed Lindsay and Lightning by the wrists and began to lead them to the station.

"Hey!" Lindsay exclaimed. "You don't need to do that."

"Sorry." Shawn apologized as he let them go. "Now c'mon."

Shawn led the other two to the train station where the rest of their team was waiting.

"Finally, there you are." Jo remarked. "Come on, we don't want to miss the train."

"C'mon Jett, can't we at least catch our breath?" Lindsay asked.

"Yeah man, blonde chick is right." Lightning agreed. "We got chased by Izzy on the way over here."

"Look, we're getting on that train right now." Jo told him.

Jo walks up to the ticket booth.

"Yeah, eight tickets please." Jo told the man at the booth.

"Of course." The man replied. "You'll just have to wait for a bit. We're having just a _tiny_ delay."

"Great…. Just what I needed today." Jo muttered to herself. "What could possibly be causing this stupid delay?"

Meanwhile, inside storage area of the train, Izzy was attempting to stuff herself inside a wooden crate.

"Izzy needs a good hiding place…" Izzy muttered to herself.

"Anyone there?" A female voice asked from out of view.

Izzy quickly got inside the crate and pulled the lid shut.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Izzy)**

"At that point, Izzy hadn't killed anybody." Izzy said. "Normally, that's a good thing. But when you're pretending to be slasher, it's not. So Izzy figured she'd hide on the train since that's where everyone else was. She was hoping to get into some stabby action."

* * *

Meanwhile, Owen, Harold, and Leshawna were still riding on the bus.

"Do we know where this thing is going?" Owen asked.

"Uh, not really." Harold admitted. "But at least it beats being hacked to bits by Izzy."

"Heh, true." Owen agreed.

"When do ya think we should get off this bus?" Leshawna asked.

"I have no idea." Harold admitted. "Hopefully soon. I'm not actually sure where this is taking us."

"Next stop, train station!" The bus driver announced.

"Huh…. Well that helps." Harold remarked.

"So we're getting off here?" Owen asked.

"Uh huh." Leshawna replied.

The bus made its stop and the trio stepped off in front of the train station.

"You think the rest of our team is already here?" Harold asked.

"Only way to find out is to look around." Leshawna replied.

The three of them entered the main area of the train station and began to wander around until they came across the Editors.

"Well, I was wondering when the other team'd show up." Jasmine remarked.

"Where's the rest of you guys?" Lindsay asked.

"Uh… We don't know." Owen admitted.

"Well, I hope you find them." Lindsay replied.

"Don't encourage them. They're the enemy." Jo whispered to her.

"Oh, sorry." Lindsay said.

"Hope your team can get here before the train leaves." Sky remarked.

"Yeah, if it weren't for that delay, Lightning's team woulda already won." Lightning added.

"What delay?" Leshawna asked.

"Yes! There's a chance." Harold cheered.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Leshawna)**

"On one hand, we had to wait through a delay. Which is a pain in the ass in real life." Leshawna said. "But on the other hand, it gave the rest of our team a chance to find us."

* * *

Meanwhile, the other Writers were still driving around town, now with Scott in the driver's seat.

"How much longer 'til we get there?" Sugar asked. "I'm gettin' real cranky back here."

"Okay Anne, I can see why you wanted to switch." Scott remarked.

"Told ya." Anne Maria said.

"Hey!" Sugar exclaimed, sounding quite offended. "What's that 'sposed to mean?"

"Guys." Zoey spoke up.

"Shut up. I need to focus on driving." Scott told her.

"Uh, yeah, but I have something to say." Zoey said.

"I really don't wanna hear it right now." Scott replied.

"You just past the train station! Okay!" Zoey exclaimed. "That's what I was trying to say!"

She quickly covered her mouth.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be rude." Zoey apologized. "It's just… You weren't really listening to me."

"It's fine." Scott replied. "In fact, I'm turning around this car right now."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Scott)**

"Was I offended by Zoey shouting at me?" Scott rhetorically asked. "But I needed to be seen as not a threat to my team. So I decided to keep my mouth shut for that one."

* * *

Scott parked the car in front of the station and stepped out before entering the station.

"Uh, you do realize that you just parked in a no parking zone back there." Dave informed him.

"It doesn't matter. This is virtual." Scott replied. "Now c'mon, we should probably find our team now."

"Where should we look for them?" Zoey asked.

"I dunno. I was hoping you'd have an idea of where to check for them." Scott said.

"There they are!" Anne Maria excitedly exclaimed as she pointed to Leshawna, Owen, and Harold in the crowd.

The Writers approached their teammates.

"It's about time ya got here." Leshawna remarked. "C'mon, we already got tickets."

Meanwhile, back in the real world, Chris and Chef were observing the contestants through the virtual reality machine.

"Hmm… This is not good." Chris remarked. "I can't have both teams make it out alive. Then nobody wins. And to top it all off nobody's even been killed yet. What do I do?"

"You could always give 'em the Murder on the Orient Express treatment." Chef suggested.

"The what?" Chris asked.

"Seriously? Ya never read one of the most well known murder mysteries?" Chef asked. "All right, basically you just strand the contestants on the train with almost no way to escape. That'll give Izz some time to pick them off."

"Great idea, Chef." Chris replied. "It sounds like something I'd think up."

"But ya didn't." Chef pointed out.

"Just let me have this." Chris requested. "I like feeling important."

Back inside the simulation, the camera cut to the Writers walking through the hallways of the train, being led by a porter.

"All right, these is your rooms." The porter told the team gesturing to two doors marked "237" and "238". "There are double bunk beds in each room which I hope you find to be more than accommodating. Oh, and be sure to wake up bright and early for our continental breakfast."

The porter left the team.

"Yeehaw! I'm a free bird right now!" Sugar exclaimed.

"But the other team is on the train too." Zoey pointed out. "Shouldn't this mean we have a tie?"

"I'm sure Chris'll have a tiebreaker for us or something once we get back into the real world." Scott told her. "Don't worry about it. Let's just relax until this simulation considers us the winners."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Zoey)**

"I had a real sinking feeling when I got on that train." Zoey commented. "But I told myself not to worry. In hindsight, I probably should've worried more."

* * *

Meanwhile, a different porter was showing the Editors to their quarters.

"All right, thank you for choosing McLean Railways." The porter told the team.

"Hmmph, I would have figured he'd at least tried and be humble." Sky remarked.

"And here are your rooms." The porter informed them, gesturing to two rooms pointing to "216" and "217". "There are two bunks in each room here. I hope you find it manageable. Be sure to stop in the dining car for breakfast. Thank you."

The porter left the team.

"So, like, which of us wins?" Beth asked. "'Cause both teams are here."

"I guess whichever one of us is closer to the front of the train." Lindsay suggested.

"Lindsay, I mean this in the nicest way possible, but that idea makes no sense." Jo told Lindsay.

"Oh… Okay." Lindsay replied.

"Let's see what's in our rooms." Geoff suggested. "Maybe there's like, some cool stuff."

Meanwhile, in the baggage area of the train, Izzy slowly lifted the lid of the crate she was inside.

"Wow, there was not a lot of air inside there. Who woulda guessed?" Izzy remarked. "Not me, that's for sure. Well, guess I gotta go find these guys now."

"Hello is anyone down here!" A voice called from out of view. "Carl! Is that you!"

Izzy approached the source of the voice, a guard, while brandishing her machete.

"Ma'am, I don't know how you got down here, but I have to ask you to return to your seat and turn in your weapon." The guard requested.

"Sure thing. But Izzy has a question for you." Izzy told the guard. "Can you please test how sharp this blade is for her?"

"I'm sorry, what?" The guard asked.

The scene abruptly changed to Zoey, Leshawna, Dave, and Sugar inside their room. Zoey was lying down on the top bunk of the left bed, Sugar lay on the bunk below her, Leshawna sat up on the bottom bunk to the right, and Dave attempted to get some rest above her.

"This bed's too squishy…" Sugar complained. "'Leat they put a mint under my pillow."

"I didn't get a mint." Leshawna remarked.

"Heh, I think I may've eaten that one too." Sugar replied. "Sorry."

"That's all right." Leshawna replied.

"They tasted like air anyway." Sugar said. "Probably 'cause they ain't real."

"I'm still worried." Zoey remarked. "Nobody has died and both teams are on the train. It can't be this easy. Can it?"

"We should probably just keep an eye open just in case something bad happened." Dave suggested. "A healthy amount of paranoia will probably help us stay alive."

"Ah don't be such a worrywart." Sugar told him. "You're gonna be just fine."

Meanwhile, in another room, the other half of the Writers were resting. Scott sat up on the bottom bunk on the right side, Owen lay down opposite him, Anne Maria was under the sheets above him, and Harold was lying down above where Scott was sitting.

"Y'know, for a not-real train this thing is surprisingly comfy." Anne Maria remarked.

"Heh, I know what you mean." Owen replied. "I like it here."

"You know, I think Zoey might have been right." Harold said.

"About what?" Scott asked.

"Chris is a huge schemer and there's no way he'll let us both win. Chances are, he's plotting something." Harold explained.

"Hmm, ya do have a point." Anne Maria admitted.

"Yeah… I guess you do." Scott remarked. "All right, we should all probably stay on our toes."

"Good idea." Owen said.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Scott)**

"To be honest, I still didn't completely trust Zoey's judgement." Scott admitted. "She's not exactly a master strategist or anything… Of course, she did make it further than me… Twice… Somehow. Uh, let's change subjects."

* * *

Meanwhile, Shawn, Jasmine, Lindsay, and Beth were in their room on the train. Lindsay was sitting on the bunk to the right, Shawn was lying down above her, Beth was sitting on the bottom bunk across from him and Jasmine lay down above Beth.

"This place is like, so cool." Lindsay remarked.

"Yeah, you totally took the words out of my mouth." Beth said.

"The beds are little small." Jasmine commented. "Well… Small for me…"

"I'm still a bit paranoid." Shawn admitted. "Something just doesn't feel right about this."

Lindsay looks around the room and sees a small radio on the end table between the beds.

"Ooh! Maybe some music will cheer things up." Lindsay suggested.

Lindsay turned on the radio and music began playing.

"' _Cause this is thriller! Thriller night."_

"Nope!" Shawn exclaimed. "Something else. I'm still not totally over my fear of zombies."

"Oh, okay." Lindsay replied before changing the station.

" _I'm going off the rails of a crazy train!"_

"Not too sure about this one either." Beth remarked.

Lindsay nodded and changed the station a third time.

" _I see the bad moon arising. I see trouble on the way."_

"Maybe we should just not listen to music?" Jasmine suggested.

"Hang on, let me keep looking." Lindsay told her.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Editors were in the other room. Jo lay down on the top bunk of the right side, Sky lay down below her, Lightning was doing push ups on the ground in the middle, and Geoff was lying down on the top bunk of the left bed.

"What's the noise?" Lightning asked.

"Think they're playing music in the next room." Geoff remarked. "This train must have thin walls."

"What Lindsay was saying earlier is starting to get to me." Jo admitted. "Which of us exactly wins? There's no way Chris would let us both win. What do you think, Sky?

"Hmm? What?" Sky asked.

"Are you listening to me?" Jo questioned.

"Huh? Sorry, I was distracted." Sky explained. "I was thinking about some stuff Dave said to me earlier."

"Ignore him." Jo advised her. "He's not even on our team."

"Usually ignoring your problems doesn't get rid of them." Sky remarked. "But for now I'll take your advice.

All of a sudden, the train came to a stop causing Jo to fall from her bed and land on top of Lightning.

"Ugh… My head…" Jo moaned.

"Dude, watch it." Lightning said.

"You guys okay?" Geoff asked.

"What the heck happened?" Sky wondered.

"Hello there, passengers. This is your conductor speaking." The conductor introduced himself, in a voice that sounded identical to Chris. "We're having some issues with the engine… Yeah, let's go with that. Uh, anyway, we're currently stopped halfway across a bridge so please do not try and get out of the train. This issue will be resolved shortly."

"Was that Chris?" Geoff asked.

"Probably." Sky replied.

"Man, my head feels numb right now." Jo commented.

"I think that the porter said there was a first aid kit in the bathrooms here." Sky told her.

"Thanks, I'll go check that out." Jo said as she stood up.

Jo exited the room and walked to a door marked "Washroom" and entered.

"Let's see… Where's the first aid kit…" Jo muttered to herself.

She looked down too much and saw the first aid kit under the seat.

"There we go." Jo said as she bent down and grabbed the kit.

She got back up but when she looked in to the mirror she saw Izzy standing behind her.

"Hiya. You really should lock the door when you go to the bathroom." Izzy told her. "Otherwise people might walk in on you. Anyway, I'm gonna stab you now."

"I'm not going down without a fight." Jo replied.

"You really need to learn not to threaten people with knives." Izzy commented. "Bye."

The scene suddenly changed back to Geoff, Lightning, and Sky in their room.

"How long do you think we'll be stuck like this?" Geoff asked.

"Yeah, Lightning's getting stir crazy." Lightning remarked.

"I have no idea." Sky admitted.

"Ah!" Jo's scream rang out throughout the train.

"Oh that can't be good…" Geoff nervously trailed off.

"C'mon, let's all just go check." Lightning suggested.

Sky nodded.

The camera cut to outside where the rest of the Editors had stepped outside. They were quickly joined by Lightning, Sky, and Geoff.

"Did you guys hear that too?" Shawn asked.

"Sha-yeah." Lightning replied.

"Oh… That can't be good." Beth worried.

"C'mon, let's go check." Jasmine told her team.

The Editors rushed down the hall towards the source of the scream. When they got there a few cars over they found an open door to the washroom where the Writers already arrived.

"You guys heard it too?" Scott asked.

"Of course we did." Sky replied.

"Heh… So who wants to peek their head inside?" Owen asked.

"Let's all look inside at the same time." Harold suggested. "How about that?"

"Why not." Shawn replied. "On three…. One… Two… Three... Now!"

All the contestants looked in to the room and saw a blood splatter on the bathroom mirror. Jo was nowhere to be seen in the room.

"Oh god… I think I'm gonna be sick…" Zoey trailed off as she ducked away from the bathroom.

"I think I've seen enough…" Beth decided as she began closing the door. "I am so totally not getting any sleep now."

"Wait, shouldn't Jo be in there?" Lightning asked. "Maybe he's still alive?"

"Or Izzy just took her somewhere else." Shawn suggested.

"I don't know 'bout you but I'm gettin' off this train." Sugar remarked.

"But, like, didn't that conductor guy say that we shouldn't get off?" Lindsay pointed out.

"Yeah, but if we stay 'ere it just makes it easier for Izzy to find us." Jasmine reasoned. "We need to find a way out."

"I suggest we go our separate ways from here to try and get out." Harold said.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Lightning)**

"Man, Lightning shoulda known that Chris wouldn't have played it fair." Lightning remarked.

* * *

The scene changed to the Writers walking through the halls of the train.

"I'm scared." Zoey said. "I knew something bad was going to happen."

"Just stay calm and find a way out." Leshawna told her.

"Should we get to the roof or the doors down here?" Scott asked.

"Chris said we were on a bridge." Dave remembered. "There probably isn't much room to walk around."

"Hmm, you're probably right." Leshawna remarked.

"But how do we get to the roof?" Harold asked.

"There's gotta be a door that leads up there somewhere." Sugar remarked. "Right?"

"Heh, I guess we just have to look until we find it." Owen said.

"That's a horrible strategy." Scott told him.

"Yeah, well it beats waitin' around 'til we get our heads chopped off." Anne Maria commented.

"C'mon, let's go find a way out now." Leshawna said.

Meanwhile, the Editors were walking through another part of the train.

"I'm afraid. I don't want anything bad to happen to me. The blonde always dies early in horror movies." Lindsay worried.

"Look, Lindsay, I don't mean to be rude, but can you please be quiet?" Shawn asked. "I'm having trouble concentrating while you're doing that."

"Oh, sorry." Lindsay apologized. "So what's the plan anyway, Sheen."

"Well, we need to find a way out, that's for sure." Shawn said. "But we're on a narrow bridge and getting gon the roof might be too risky. Which path do you guys think we should take?"

"I'm worried it might be too dangerous on the roof." Jasmine replied. "I say we take the doors."

"Yeah, I kinda agree too." Geoff said. "I don't wanna be up too high. It might get a bit uncomfortable."

"All right, then we need to find a door and bust it open." Lightning said.

"Is that really the best idea?" Shawn asked.

"Probably not." Lightning admitted. "But it sounds fun."

"We'll figure how we're getting out when we get to the door." Jasmine said. "For now, let's just play it safe."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Shawn)**

"I'm not sure Lightning's all that trustworthy." Shawn remarked. "He may not be that smart, but I just have a bad feeling about him. I'm sure it's nothing though."

* * *

Meanwhile, the Writers were wandering around the engine room of the train.

"Guys, I have a bad feeling about being back here." Owen commented.

"Whadda you mean?" Anne Maria asked.

"There are a lot of spots back here where Izzy could hide." Owen explained.

Harold looks around the room and sees a ladder leading to a hatch in the ceiling.

"Guys, I think I see a way out." Harold told them.

"Good for you." Izzy commented from out of view.

"Wh-who said that?" Zoey asked.

Izzy jumps out from the shadows swinging her machete. The team gets out the way causing Izzy to miss.

"Aw, you're no fun." Izzy remarked.

"All right, everyone out!" Leshawna instructed her team. "Let's move, now!"

The Writers began running towards the ladder and Izzy began following them.

"Whee!" Izzy cheered. "It's way more fun when I have to chase you guys."

The scene changed to up on the roof of the stationary train as the Writers one by one climbed through the hatch. It all went smoothly until it was Owen's turn to go through and he got stuck halfway through climbing.

"Uh… Heh, can someone help me?" Owen asked.

The rest of Writers rushed over to Owen and began pulling him in an attempt to get him out. After a few moments, they were able to get Owen out of the hatch.

"Phew, I owe ya one." Owen remarked.

"C'mon, let's keep running." Zoey said.

The Writers began to run down the length of the train in the direction it was going previous to it stopping. While they ran, Izzy climbed out of the hatch.

"Ooh, we're up here now. Fun!" Izzy exclaimed.

Izzy chased after the Writers and gained on them rather quickly.

"Uh oh, that doesn't look good." Scott remarked. "We might wanna pick up the pace."

"You don't have to tell me!" Dave exclaimed.

Izzy ran fast enough to catch up with the tail end of the Writers. She jumped up on Owen's head, bounced off that and landed on top of Harold, pinning him to the ground.

"Gosh! Not cool!" Geoff exclaimed.

"Should we go back for him?" Zoey asked as she ran.

"No time! It's better to save ourselves while we're so close." Scott replied.

"For once I have to agree with him." Dave admitted. "We're too close to winning to jeopardize our success."

Izzy gets off of Harold before grabbing him by the shirt collar and holding him up.

"Izzy, can't we work something out? Whatever you do please don't stab me." Harold pleaded.

"Okay, I won't." Izzy replied.

"Really?" Harold asked in disbelief. "Wait a minute, you're just gonna-"

Harold was cut short when Izzy threw him off the roof of the train and over the bridge in to the chasm below.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Harold)**

"I probably should have seen that coming from a mile away." Harold admitted.

* * *

Back inside the train, the Editors were walking through the corridors.

"Do you guys have any idea where we're going?" Geoff asked. "'Cause, like, I'm stumped."

"I'm sort of improvising." Shawn admitted. "I have no idea what the layout of this train is."

"We need to find a door that looks like it'll be easy to open." Jasmine explained.

"Hey! Lightning sees a good door!" Lightning told his team, pointing to a door.

"How do you know?" Beth asked.

"Lightning's got this gut feeling. And that feeling's never wrong." Lightning explained.

"Makes sense." Lindsay cheerily remarked.

"How exactly?" Shawn asked.

"It just does." Lindsay replied.

"Well, we might as well try." Sky said. "C'mon guys."

Sky, Lightning, and Jasmine approached the door.

"Let's all try and pull this open." Jasmine instructed. "All right, 'ere we go."

The three of them tried to jam their fingers in to a small crack in the middle of the sliding doors. They began pulling and after almost a minute of attempting the door came open.

"Whoa, you like, actually did it." Geoff remarked. "Awesome!"

"Now c'mon, let's get outta here." Jasmine said.

The Editors stepped outside of the train.

"Oh… I feel bad." Lindsay commented. "We totally left Joan in there."

"She's dead, remember." Shawn reminded her.

"I think Linds is right. We never saw her in the bathroom. What if she survived?" Beth suggested.

"It's too late for that now." Shawn told her. "We have to keep going and get out of this place before it's too late to win."

"If you say so." Beth sighed.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Beth)**

"Yeah, Jo was a jerk but she didn't deserve to get stabbed by a crazy person." Beth said before sighing. "… This is why I don't watch horror movies that often."

* * *

"All right, let's be careful." Sky told her team as they walked along the narrow path on the side of the bridge. "We don't have too much room out here, all right?"

"Right." Beth replied. "I'll be careful."

The Editors began walking along the narrow path across the bridge in the direction the train was originally going.

"You think we're safe from Izz out here?" Geoff wondered.

"Nope!" Izzy exclaimed from out of view.

The Editors looked up and saw Izzy standing on the roof of the train above him.

"What are you doing up there?" Sky asked.

"Oh, I just threw Harold over the edge but the rest of his team got away." Izzy explained. "But now I found you guys. I'll give you a five second head start."

With this information, the Editors began to run down the walkway. After their five seconds had passed, Izzy jumped down from the roof of the train on to the narrow metal walkway below.

"This is gonna be fun." Izzy commented.

Izzy began running after the Editors.

"Running in a straight line probably isn't a good idea." Shawn remarked as he ran.

"There isn't exactly much room out here." Jasmine pointed out.

"I am having was too much fun with this." Izzy commented while running.

Izzy grabbed Geoff by the shoulder and pulled him to the ground.

"Oof!" Geoff exclaimed. "Wow, you're stronger than you look."

"Aw, that's nice." Izzy told him. "I'll spare you the stabbing."

"So I get to live?" Geoff asked.

"Silly goose, I never said that." Izzy replied as she picked up Geoff up by the collar of his shirt.

She then threw him over the edge of the bridge to his virtual death like she did with Harold.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Geoff)**

"I mean… She like, didn't stab me so there's that." Geoff remarked.

* * *

The scene changed to the remaining Writers climbing off the very end of the train.

"Aw man…" Zoey panted. "I can't believe we lost Harold."

"Don't worry, we can still make it out of this." Scott told the rest of the team.

The team looked around at their surroundings and saw there were two large cornfields on either side of the train tracks.

"C'mon guys, let's cut through the field and get outta here." Leshawna instructed the team.

"Is that a good idea?" Dave asked. "There might be some bugs in there. I don't want to get in fected.

"Hey, genius. The bugs aren't real." Scott reminded him.

"It still seems kinda gross." Dave remarked.

"No time to argue, let's just go." Leshawna told her partners.

The Writers ran in to the cornfield.

The camera cut back to the Editors running along the walkway with Izzy chasing after them.

"My legs are getting tired…" Beth panted as she slowed down her run.

"Don't give up now! We're almost off this bridge." Jasmine told her.

The Angry Editors made it off of the bridge.

"Now where to?" Lindsay asked.

Shawn noticed the prints of the previous team leading in to the cornfield.

"There!" Shawn exclaimed, pointing to the cornfield. "The others are already in there."

The Editors ran off in to the cornfield.

"Ooh, we're playing hide an seek now." Izzy cheerily remarked. "What fun! Izzy loves a challenge!"

* * *

 **(Confessional: Shawn)**

"I feel like Izzy was having a little too much fun with that challenge." Shawn told the audience. "It can't be just me who thinks that, right?"

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jasmine)**

"I'm a little confused by the geography of this place. I started at a beach, and ended in a cornfield. 'Ow does that work?" Jasmine asked.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the depths of the cornfield, the Writers were wandering around trying to find a way out.

"Can someone please tell me they know where we're goin'?" Anne Maria asked.

"I think I do." Leshawna told her.

"I don't know 'bout you but all this here corn is makin' me hungry." Sugar commented. "Bet it'd be good with some butter and pepper."

"Mmm… I like the way you think." Owen said.

"You guys can eat when we get out of this simulation." Dave told them. "Right now, we need to focus on not becoming machete food."

"Yum… Machete food…" Sugar trailed off. "Wait, that ain't good."

"I'm going to die surrounded by idiots…" Scott mumbled to himself.

"Did you say something?" Owen asked Scott.

"Uh, no." Scott quickly replied.

"Oh, okay." Owen said.

"I'm getting nervous. This corn's too tall for me to see over." Zoey remarked. "It makes it easy for Izzy to sneak up on us."

"Don't worry, we just need to keep thinking positive." Leshawna tried to motivate her.

"Oh yeah, it'll be real easy to keep positive when my brain's splattered all over the ground." Anne Maria sarcastically said.

"Not helping." Zoey told her, sounding slightly irritated.

"Jeez, chill out." Anne Maria replied.

"I'm sure she won't be able to find us that easily." Owen told his team. "Right guys?"

"Oh you'd be surprised." Izzy remarked from out of view.

"Wh-where are you?" Dave panicked.

"Silly little Dave, if I told you then it wouldn't be a surprise when I jumped out." Izzy replied.

The sound of cornstalks rustling was heard as Izzy silhouette was seen quickly moving in a circle around the Writers.

"All right… We're going to start running." Leshawna whispered to her team before suddenly raising her voice. "Now!"

With that, the Writers began to run through cornfield away from the direction they heard Izzy moving in.

"This woman is insane!" Zoey exclaimed.

"Ah gee, what gave it away." Scott sarcastically replied as they ran. "We can all see that plain as day!"

Izzy managed to catch up to the Writers and grab on to Sugar who was straggling in the back.

"Let go of me ya psycho!" Sugar screamed.

Sugar was forced to the ground by Izzy as the rest of her team continued to run.

"Okay seriously, I don't even like Sugar that much but we have to help her." Zoey told the rest of her team.

"We are so close to finding a way out of this stupid place." Scott replied as he continued to run. "We need to just keep away from Izzy long enough to do that."

"Hate to say it, but Scott's right." Dave agreed.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Zoey)**

"I mean… I guess he kinda was right. But still, you can't just leave someone behind. We could've saved her." Zoey said.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Editors were wandering in a different part of the cornfield.

"Man, this place is sha-freaky." Lightning remarked. "How much longer are we gonna be out here?"

"I have no idea." Shawn admitted. "We just need to keep going."

"I'm getting scared out here." Beth said. "How much longer are we gonna have to do this?"

"The answer is still I don't know." Shawn told her. "Can everyone please just be quiet? I need to focus."

"Why do you need to focus?" Lindsay asked.

"So we can get out." Shawn replied.

The remaining Editors found themselves in a part of the cornfield that had no stalks in it and a scarecrow.

"Do you think this scarecrow is a landmark?" Sky asked. "Should we keep going this way?"

"I guess so." Jasmine replied. "I really have no idea where we're going. We kinda just 'ave to make our best estimate."

"That scarecrow creeps Lightning out." Lightning remarked. "Let's get outta here."

"Aw, but I was just starting to have fun." Izzy remarked from out of view.

"C'mon! I thought we got away from you!" Shawn exclaimed.

"Nope, I will never die!" Izzy cheered before laughing.

"Please don't kill us." Beth begged.

"In the immortal words of Blue Öyster Cult: Don't fear the reaper." Izzy replied.

"Wh-what does that mean?" Beth asked.

"It means I'm about to kill you." Izzy explained.

Izzy stepped out of the cornstalks into the clearing, holding her machete. She threw her machete at Lindsay only for her to duck and the machete to get lodged in the chest of the scarecrow.

"This'd be the perfect time to start running." Izzy told them.

"Thanks for the advice." Sky replied.

The Editors began running away from her.

"I always love getting to chase them down." Izzy commented. "Whee!"

* * *

 **(Confessional: Lightning)**

"Lightning probably shoulda been scared of Izz." Lightning commented. "But all he could think of was what the sha-hell a "Blue Oyster Cult" is."

* * *

The camera focused on the Editors running through the field.

"Have we lost her yet?" Lindsay asked while running.

"I don't see her anymore." Sky replied.

After a few more moments of running, the Editors found their way out of the cornfield and over by the farmhouse Leshawna, Harold, and Owen were originally at.

"Hey, I think this means we're going the right way!" Beth cheered.

"We can't celebrate yet." Jasmine told her. "We're far from over right now."

Just then, Izzy stepped out of the cornfield wielding her machete.

"Oh, I'll say." Izzy remarked.

"Not again!" Shawn exclaimed. "We just got away from you."

Before anyone could do anything else, all the remaining Writers stepped in to the clearing from a different spot in the cornfield.

"Oh hey, this looks familiar." Owen remarked.

"Uh… I feel like we walked in on something." Dave commented, noticing Izzy and the others.

"Ooh, just in time for the party." Izzy told the Writers. "Are you all ready to have some fun? Oh, and by fun I mean knives in your faces."

"That'd be a hard no." Scott replied.

"Too bad!" Izzy excitedly exclaimed. "Stabby time!"

"All right guys, barn, now!" Leshawna quickly instructed her team.

The Writers began running towards the barn.

"Follow them." Sky told her team, pointing at the Writers.

The Editors ran after the Writers.

"Makes things easier for me." Izzy remarked.

The scene changed to the Writers making it inside the barn.

"Where do we go now?" Anne Maria asked.

"In the hay." Leshawna told them, pointing a pile of hay in the corner of the room.

"You sure about that?" Dave questioned.

"We don't have much time." Leshawna replied. "Just get in there."

The Writers quickly hid inside the hay pile.

Once they were in, the Editors entered the room moments later.

"Okay we're here… Now what?" Beth asked.

"No idea." Geoff replied.

Jasmine looked up and saw a bunch of barrels on a wooden loft with a ladder leading up to them.

"We'll climb up there." Jasmine hastily instructed her team. "Let's move before Izzy finds us."

The Editors climbed up the ladder and hid behind the barrels.

"Now what do we do?" Lindsay asked.

"You be quiet while I think of a better plan." Jasmine whispered back.

Izzy enters the barn with her machete.

"Ooh, you're all hiding, huh." Izzy replied. "Izzy loves a game of hide and seek. Hmm… Where does Izzy check first?"

The camera focused on the Writers hiding in the hay.

"What do we do?" Zoey whispered. "She's right there."

"Stop panicking. Keep it together, girl." Leshawna told Zoey. "We can improvise something."

"All right, here's an idea." Scott said. "One of us goes out as bat to distract her."

"That's really the best you got?" Dave asked.

"I don't work well under pressure, okay." Scott replied. "Let's see you do better."

"Ugh, this is not how I saw myself going down." Anne Maria mumbled.

"Tell ya what Scott. We'll use your bait idea… As long as you're the bait." Leshawna told him.

"Hmm… Let me think about it." Scott replied.

There was a long pause while the other Writers waited for Scott's response.

"Yeah, no, I'll have to pass on that." Scott told his team.

"Dang it, thought we had a way out of this." Leshawna remarked.

The camera panned up to the Editors behind the barrels.

"What do we do now?" Beth asked.

"We need to use our environment to our advantage." Shawn replied.

"And how are we supposed to do that exactly?" Sky asked.

"Let me think." Shawn told her.

Shawn felt around on the ground and grabbed on to a matchbox.

"All right, this could work." Shawn remarked. "We'll burn this place down."

"That's really the best idea you can come up with?" Jasmine questioned.

"Look, I'm under a lot of pressure right now." Shawn defended. "Do you have any other ideas? Izzy could find us at any second."

"I think we should do it." Lindsay said. "I don't have any other ideas."

"All right, we'll burn this place down." Jasmine reluctantly agreed. "You're unfortunately right. Izzy will think to check up 'ere at some point."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jasmine)**

"I'm really lucky to have Shawn as a boyfriend." Jasmine told the audience. "But with that said, he can sometimes be a bit ridiculous and have bad ideas. But in that moment, it was the only idea we had."

* * *

Shawn lit the match.

"Is this really a good idea?" Sky asked.

"Look, we only have a short amount of time before Izzy decides to check here." Shawn told her. "This may seem stupid, but it's the best we can do right now."

He threw the match off the loft they were in and to the ground which was covered with dried hay. This caused a small fire to start in that area.

"Ooh! There you are!" Izzy exclaimed, looking up. "Hiya! Ready to die?"

"Are you not concerned with the fire at all?!" Sky shouted down to her.

"Meh, Izzy's survived worse." Izzy replied.

The Editors got out from behind the barrels and began moving towards the ladder.

"Hey, do you guys smell smoke?" Owen asked from inside the hay his team was hiding in.

"Yeah, I do too." Dave remarked. "That can't be good!"

Scott poked his head out from the hay and saw the fire.

"Yep… That's definitely a fire." Scott remarked.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Anne Maria)**

"They set the place on fire!" Anne Maria exclaimed. "What kind of idiot does that? Honestly! Seriously, what the hell!"

* * *

The Writers crawled out of the hay pile they were in and the Editors climbed down from their ladder.

"So this is how we're dong it, huh?" Izzy asked. "All right, this should be fun."

At this point, the fire had begun to spread to the walls of the barn.

"Aren't you concerned with the fire at all?" Jasmine asked.

"Nah, I kinda like it. Keeps Izzy warm." Izzy said. "Now… Who does Izzy go after first?"

"All right, one of us has to distract her." Leshawna whispered to her team.

"Ugh, fine, I'll do it now." Scott reluctantly agreed.

Scott ran at Izzy and punched her in the jaw causing her to drop the blade she held.

"Oof!" Izzy exclaimed. "Haha! That was fun!"

Izzy grabbed Scott by the fabric of his shirt.

"Ugh! Cut it out!" Scott exclaimed as he kneeded her in the stomach causing her to let go.

"Ha! Izzy's not giving up yet!" Izzy cheered.

Izzy punched Scott's nose causing him to hold it in pain.

"Gah!" Scott exclaimed.

She then grabbed on to his shirt again. Izzy lifted Scott up before she threw him across the room and through the weak wall of the barn.

"Whee!" Izzy cheered. "Who wants to go next?"

"Is he okay?" Zoey asked.

"I doubt it." Anne Maria replied.

The camera focused on the Editors.

"Hmm… That plan seemed to work." Lightning remarked. "Lightning's gonna try it."

"You're being sarcastic, right?" Shawn asked.

"Lightning don't know the meaning of that word." Lightning replied.

"Ooh, I wanna help too!" Lindsay exclaimed.

"Come with Lightning then." Lightning told her.

"You sure you don't wanna think this out better?" Beth asked.

"No time to talk, girl." Lightning replied. "We gotta go."

Lightning and Lindsay both charged at Izzy at the same time. Lindsay reached her first for Izzy to sidestep her causing Lindsay to crash in to a nearby non-flaming portion of the wall.

"I'm okay…" Lindsay mumbled.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Lindsay)**

"Yeah, that was like, not a good idea." Lindsay admitted. "Good thing it was virtual, otherwise my face would've been screwed up for like, forever."

* * *

"Uh… Maybe Lightning'll back off from this one." Lightning decided as he began to back away.

The fire had begun to spread to the ceiling and Izzy had retrieved her weapon.

"Come on guys, I don't want things to get too bloody." Izzy told them. "It would be fun, but then the TV guys would have to censor it."

The camera focus on the Writers.

"Owen, what was it that Izzy said to you earlier?" Leshawna whispered to Owen..

"What are you talking about?" Owen replied.

"When she first tried to kill us." Leshawna reminded him. "Something about killing you last."

"What are you getting at?" Owen questioned.

"Go talk to her as a distraction while we get out." Leshawna suggested.

"Uh… Okay." Owen replied. "Sure."

Owen slowly approached Izzy.

"Uh, hey there Izz…" Owen nervously greeted her. "How's it goin'?"

"Oh, just great." Izzy replied. "Izzy's having a blast playing the villain."

"How's it been being off the show?" Owen tried to make small talk, still sounding nervous. "Done anything cool recently?"

"I tried to find out how many licks it takes to get the center of a Tootsie Pop." Izzy told him. "Izzy just got bored after about one hundred though."

While Owen was providing the distraction, both teams had begun to slip away from the slowly burning barn.

"Wow that sure is, uh, interesting." Owen went on. "Anything else?"

"Ooh! Ooh! I've been sending lots of Emails to Eva but she hasn't gotten back to me yet." Izzy said. "Wonder why."

"I-I'd sure like to keep in touch with you too, heh." Owen told her.

"How nice of you to say." Izzy replied. "Wait a minute…. You're just distracting Izzy! Ah, I wish I thought of that before. Well, guess Izzy has to make you dead now."

"But you said you'd kill me last." Owen replied.

"Yeah, well…. I changed my mind." Izzy explained. "Sorry."

Izzy kicked Owen in the stomach with such force that he flew across the room and created a large hole next to where Scott landed.

"How does that even work…" Owen weakly groaned.

"Haha! Virtual world!" Izzy cheered. "Chris made Izzy invincible!"

A combination of the barn burning and the weak supports from Scott and Owen being thrown through the walls caused a large rafter above Izzy to come loose and fall.

"Or maybe she isn't…." Izzy trailed off as she looked up, frozen in fear.

The flaming piece of wood crushed Izzy, causing her virtual death. Pretty soon, the rest of the barn collapsed, burying the remaining contestants.

After a few moments, Dave and Anne Maria crawled out of the wreckage for the Writers while Jasmine and Beth crawled out for the Editors.

"Ugh, what happened?" Beth wondered, sounding dazed.

"Did we win?" Dave asked. "Is Izzy gone?"

The surviving contestants began glowing blue.

"What the heck!?" Anne Maria exclaimed.

"I think this means the challenge is over." Jasmine said.

The scene changed back to the real world with the four surviving contestants coming out of the machine to be greeted by their teammates, the hosts, and Izzy.

"And the challenge is over!" Chris cheered. "Due to Izzy's virtual demise, the win will be given to whichever team did her in."

"But she was crushed by that big wooden thing." Anne Maria pointed out. "Who won?"

"Well, that requires a bit of decision making on my part." Chris explained. "But due to the fact that it was Leshawna's idea and Owen being thrown through the wall that caused Izzy's defeat, the Writers win."

"Ha! Yes." Harold cheered to himself.

"So, both teams may now go enjoy some refreshments, courtesy of Chef." Chris isnturcted the teams. "But remember Editors, you're on the chopping block tonight."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Owen)**

"Woohoo! For once, accidentally getting hurt won the challenge!" Owen cheered. "Really never thought I'd hear myself saying that. Heh."

* * *

The scene changed to later where the contestants were sitting down eating what appeared to be mashed potatoes.

The camera focused itself on the Editors. Jo's tray was completely empty.

"Somehow all this food tastes worse than usual." Shawn remarked. "Somehow saltier."

"That must be what defeat tastes like, man." Geoff replied.

"Meh, Chef's food always tastes like this to me." Beth remarked.

"Hmm, I've 'ad worse." Jasmine admitted. "But not by too much."

"Well I thought mine was just…. _Adequate_." Jo informed her team. "In fact, Lindsay, Beth, get me two more plates."

"Why both of us?" Lindsay asked.

"Yeah, what's with that?" Beth added.

"You'll both do it because I said so." Jo told them through gritted teeth as she leaned towards Beth.

"Heh… All right." Beth replied. "C'mon Linds. Let's go."

Beth and Lindsay got up and went towards Chef.

"What the heck was that about?" Sky asked.

"Look, clearly one of those two is the weak link on this team right." Jo told the rest of this team.

"Man, not this again." Lightning remarked. "Can't ya just leave us alone."

"Yeah dude, you're kinda weird." Geoff added.

"It's important to decide who to get rid of ahead of time." Jo argued. "Besides, I'm sure you'll agree with me on at least this: They're the only members of the team that aren't strong, smart, or both."

"Yeah, but they're both good people." Jasmine pointed out.

"When has a one hundred percent good person ever made it far on this show?" Jo asked.

"That's true, that princess girl from my season didn't do so well." Sky admitted.

"See. They're the weak link." Jo insisted. "You don't have to agree with me, but I just want you to listen."

Beth and Lindsay arrived back at the table with Jo's plates.

"Hey Jill, we got you your food." Lindsay told her.

"Still don't see why you wanted more food." Beth remarked.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jasmine)**

"I don't really think it's fair for Jo to say who is or isn't weak when she was the first one killed off in the challenge." Jasmine told the audience. "I'm just saying is all."

* * *

The camera moved over to the Writers at their table.

"Woohoo! We won!" Owen cheered. "We're feasting on the food of champions."

"It's just over salted mashed potatoes." Leshawna pointed out.

"Tastes pretty good to me." Owen replied.

"Here, have mine." Anne Maria said, handing him her plate. "I think I'll just… Starve."

"Heh, more for me." Owen remarked as he took the plate.

"Gosh, I can't believe I was the first one from our team to be knocked from the challenge." Harold said. "I expected so much better from myself."

"I've seen people do worse." Dave told him.

"Y'know, looking back on it, Izzy wasn't that scary." Zoey admitted. "Wonder why they chose her?"

"Probably because she was the only contestant who was okay with fake-killing us." Scott theorized. "How is someone like that even allowed to be on this show anyway?"

"I think she woulda been fine if she didn't hit her head when she first arrived here." Leshawna remarked.

"No, she's always been like this." Owen said. "I should know, she made me watch both of her audition videos."

"She had two?" Harold asked.

"She said the second one was for good luck." Owen explained. "I just don't question her sometimes."

The scene faded ahead to later with the Editors sitting in front of the stage that Chris was up on.

"So, how was being pretend-murdered?" Chris asked the team.

"What do you think, man?" Geoff asked.

"Fair point." Chris admitted. "Oh, and just so that you know ahead of time, whoever our big loser is, you get to ride home with Izzy. So depending on who you are, that's either a good thing or a bad thing. Anywho, get to the voting!"

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Jo)**

Jo held up a picture of Lindsay with an X over it.

"Lindsay, you're useless. Plain and simple." Jo stated. "Lightning and Geoff may be as dumb as a wet sack of potatoes but at least they look like they're moderately strong. And Beth may be a bit dull and out of shape, but she's at least semi-competent. That leaves you. So long."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Beth)**

Beth showed a photo of Lightning with an X on it to the camera.

"It's not like a hate you or anything." Beth said. "But… You're kinda annoying. No hard feelings. Right?"

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Jasmine)**

Jasmine drew an X on a picture of Jo and held it up.

"I want to like you, I really do." Jasmine admitted. "I feel like we've got some things in common. But as you are now, I don't quite care for you."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Shawn)**

Shawn crossed out a picture of Beth and showed it to the audience.

"As much as I hate to admit it, I really can't think of much useful you've done, Beth." Shawn said. "At least Lindsay tried to help defeat Izzy. Granted, she didn't do very well. Again, really sorry Beth. But from a strategic point of view, you'd die pretty early in a zombie situation."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Lindsay)**

Lindsay showed a photograph of Jo with a smiley face drawn on it to the camera.

"I don't know, I'm getting some bad vibes from you." Lindsay said. "I'm not sure if that's a good enough reason to vote you off… But I'm doing it anyway."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sky)**

"I'm not really sure who to vote for." Sky admitted. "On one hand, Jo and Lightning sort of annoy me. On the other hand, Beth and Lindsay aren't all that useful… Hmm… I need to make a choice."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Lightning)**

"Lightning and Jo've got a friendly rivalry goin' on." Lightning stated. "But Lightning's gotta agree. Those two girls ain't the sharpest knives in the… That little block you stick your knives in. Lighting just can't choose which one he wants to vote for."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Geoff)**

Geoff held a photograph of Lightning with an X over it to the camera.

"Sorry bro, but I've known Beth and Linds for a while. They're good girls. And Jo's kinda bossy but she's at least good at doing stuff most of the time." Geoff stated. "Lightning, you're just like, not as good. Sorry."

* * *

The scene changed back to the Editors watching Chris on stage with Chef next to him holding a plate with several Gilded Chris awards on it.

"All right contestants. Time for the moment of truth." Chris told them. "Shawn, Sky, Lightning, and Geoff. You're all safe."

Chef tossed four awards to them.

"Beth, Lindsay, Lightning, and Jo. I'm going to hand out two more of these things." Chris told them, gesturing to the awards. "These next ones go to…"

…

…

…

…

…

…

"…. Jo and Beth!"

Chef threw the next two Gilded Chris Wards over to the,

"Yes!" Beth cheered.

"Knew it." Jo remarked.

"Lindsay, Lightning, only one of you gets to stay." Chris told them. "And the other one is going to take a carpool out of here with Izzy. But, the one that gets to stay is…"

…

…

…

…

…

…

"… Lightning!"

Chef threw the final award to Lightning.

"Sha-yeah!" Lightning cheered.

"Aw man…" Lindsay disappointedly trailed off.

"Sorry Lindsay." Sky apologized. "But I didn't really know you too well."

"That's okay Skyler." Lindsay replied. "I had fun anyway. Bye guys."

Lindsay got up and walked away towards the limousine that Izzy was waiting in front of.

"Oh hey there Lindsay. Ready to rumble?" Izzy asked. "Izzy wants to stop by the drive thru and ask for one of those fishburgers with extra mustard. You want anything?"

"Ooh, can you see if they have milkshakes?" Lindsay asked as she entered the car, followed by Izzy.

The limousine drove off once they were both inside. When they were gone, Chris stepped up to the area where the car just left.

"Well, that certainly was an eventful day." Chris remarked, turning to the camera. "Tune in next time to see if our other guest starts are more mentally stable on Total. Drama. Winners!"

* * *

 **Votes:**

Beth - Lightning

Geoff - Lightning

Jasmine - Jo

Jo - Lindsay

Lightning - Lindsay

Lindsay - Jo

Shawn - Beth

Sky - Lindsay

 **Results:**

Lindsay - 3 Votes

Lightning - 2 Votes

Jo - 2 Votes

Beth - 1 Vote

 **Eliminated:**

Mike, the Nice Guy (18th Place)

Max, the Super Villain (17th Place)

Lindsay, the Dumb Princess (16th Place)

* * *

 **I hope I did a good job on this challenge. I'll be honest, I had trouble writing this chapter and I think I know why. I was about halfway through this chapter when I realized that my knowledge of slasher films was limited to the parodies I saw in the Simpsons Halloween specials and the first Childs Play film. Really, the Twilight Zone and some of the films featured on MST3K are what most of the horror I've seen is. Hopefully I did well with this one regardless. But I'll take this as a lesson to write in genres I'm more familiar with. Anyway, as for Lindsay's elimination, I wanted to do something with her because I actually like her character. But I'll be honest, I couldn't actually think of anything for her to do. So I decided to have her booted early. Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed this chapter. Be sure to leave a review to let me know what you thought.**


	5. Labyrinth of Lunacy

**Just a heads up, I'm going to be away for a week starting Friday and probably won't get much work done while that's happening. So if the next chapter takes longer than usual to be up, you know why. Anyway, I hope you have as much fun reading this chapter as I did writing it. That's about it for the opening note. Enjoy the story.**

* * *

"Last time, on Total Drama Winners. We sent our contestants to a humble small town setting… That also happened to be home to Izzy playing the role of a psycho killer." Footage of several of the contestants running from Izzy played. "After being chased down, Izzy was eventually defeated by the Writers." The burning barn from the last challenge collapsing was seen next. "And in the end, it came down between two of the dimmest Editors: Lindsay and Lightning. But Lindsay ended up being the biggest loser." Beth boarding the limousine with Izzy was shown next.

The footage changed to Chris wandering through the abandoned film lot.

"Will the Angry Editors be able to recover, or will they lose for a third time?" Chris continued. "Find out right now, on Total. Drama. Winners!"

* * *

 **(Theme Song)**

* * *

The scene faded in contestants in line for their breakfast with Zoey at the front of the line.

"So, what do you have this time?" Zoey asked.

Chef put a pile of burnt pancakes down on her plate.

"What are these?" Zoey questioned.

"Pancakes." Chef bluntly replied. "Now get out. I still got other people to serve."

The camera cut to the contestants sitting at the table with their pancakes and focused on the Editors.

"It'll get better from here, right?" Beth asked. "We can win this next challenge, right?"

"It's too early to talk about this." Jo told her.

"Man, I'm gonna miss Linds." Geoff remarked. "I still don't get why she had to go."

"Yeah, I miss her too." Beth added.

"Meh, we could've done worse." Jo replied.

"In what way?" Jasmine asked.

"Well, she wasn't exactly the more valuable person we could've lost and…" Jo began before she saw Jasmine glaring at her. "I'll just shut my mouth for now."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jo)**

"Grr, she's going next." Jo stated. "Mark my words."

* * *

"We need to work together more." Shawn told his team. "Even I can't survive just on my own. And I'm not sure if you've noticed, but I know everything about survival."

"Let's just hope Chris chooses a less dangerous movie this time." Beth sighed.

"Man, these pancakes are no good for Lightning at all." Lightning remarked. "There's no protein in here at all."

"Why do you feel the need to tell us?" Sky asked.

"Dunno. Just feel like it." Lightning replied. "Got a problem?"

"Well, I think it's time I exercised these carbs off." Jo decided. "I'll be back in a bit."

"I'll come with you." Sky told her.

"Ugh… Sure, why not." Jo grumbled. "Just don't get in my way."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sky)**

"Yeah… I'm not too enthusiastic about this team." Sky admitted. "Shawn and Jasmine are all right, but some of the others… Yeah, not so much. I don't really know them."

* * *

The camera moved over to the Writers at their breakfast table.

"This is not what I expected a breakfast for the winners to taste like." Dave remarked.

"At least that means Chef isn't biased." Zoey said.

"Yeesh. That's your idea of a bright side?" Anne Maria asked. "Remind me to not invite you to a funeral."

"I'm trying my best." Zoey defended. "I hate these burnt pancakes as much as you guys."

"Yeah, even I have to admit I'm not a fan of these." Owen confessed. "They're burnt but they're also too cold."

"Getting _you_ to not like something? Now that's an accomplishment." Leshawna remarked.

"What do you guys think this next challenge is gonna be?" Scott asked. "I hope I don't get thrown through any more walls."

"Well Chris has already done disaster, superhero, and horror films. So he probably won't repeat them yet." Harold remarked. "I'd say the next most obvious would be a high fantasy."

"I don't know what that means but ya made it sound fun." Sugar said. "Maybe I won't die."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Anne Maria)**

"Yeah, Sugar's a bit of a dunce. But she's startin' to grown on me." Anne Maria admitted. "Like a moss… No, that don't sound right. Point is stuff like that doesn't happen very often."

* * *

The scene changed to Jo and Sky out on a jog together.

"Ugh, why are you following me?" Jo irritably asked.

"Well, first off, I wanted to make sure you didn't find any of the statues." Sky explained.

"Of course…" Jo grumbled.

" _But_ I also wanted to get to know you better." Sky added.

"Why's that?" Jo asked. "What's your game?'

"There's no game." Sky insisted as the two of them ran. "I just feel like I haven't gotten to know the people who aren't from my season that well."

"Well, I don't really feel particularly comfortable knowing you." Jo replied. "All you need to know about me is that I don't want to lose, or make friends."

"I guess that's kind of respectable." Sky admitted. "That's what I wanted to do when I first came here. But that didn't really work out."

"In a good way or a bad way?" Jo asked as they continued running.

"I guess both." Sky said. "On one hand I met some pretty good people… But on the other hand I met Dave."

"All right, I feel like I'm out of the loop here, what's so bad about Dave?" Jo asked.

"Well, for starters he tried to seriously injure me during last season's finale." Sky replied.

"Yep… That sounds bad." Jo said. "Why'd he do this exactly?"

"Because he didn't know I already had a boyfriend." Sky explained. "I tried to tell him, but he never listened."

"Some people are just idiots, Sky." Jo told him. "That's my motto."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jo)**

"To be honest, I don't really care about Sky and her whole drama with Dave." Jo admitted. "But… I might be able to use that to my advantage… Although I don't know how."

* * *

The camera changed to a close up of the speakers.

"Hello contestants!" Chris cheered over the loud speakers. "You know what to do by now. Meet me and Chef over by the studio warehouse! Let's go!"

The scene changed to the teams arriving in the warehouse where Chris and Chef already were waiting.

"So, how is everyone this morning?" Chris asked.

"It could be better." Zoey said. "But it probably could be worse too."

"That's nice." Chris replied. "Anyway, I don't really care."

"I expected that…" Zoey admitted.

"So, you're probably wondering what today's challenge is." Chris remarked. "Well, have any of you seen the movie Labyrinth?"

"Ooh, I love that movie." Sugar replied.

"Well good, because that's what I'm theming this challenge after." Chris told them. "Originally I was going to get Justin or Trent to come in and play the role of the sexy David Bowie goblin king… But they were unavailable. So I got the next best thing."

"And what would that be?" Harold asked.

"Say hello to Pahkitew Island contestant Leonard and his best friend and fellow reality TV contestant, Tammy!" Chris announced.

Leonard and Tammy ran in to view of the teams.

"Huzzah! Prepare to fall to the mighty goblin king!" Leonard cheered.

"With our mystical powers nobody will stand a chance!" Tammy added.

"Oh god… Not him…" Dave muttered to himself.

"Yeehaw! The wizard's back!" Sugar cheered.

"Look, they're the only ones who said yes to my offer." Chris explained. "Leonard here will be our goblin king and Tammy will be his right hand woman."

"So how do you win this challenge exactly?" Leshawna asked.

"Same as in the movie. Make it through the labyrinth and defeat the goblin king." Chris told her. "Goblin king meaning Leonard."

"Hurrah!" Leonard cheered.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sky)**

"Man… I almost forgot about that guy." Sky remarked. "And now I'm remembering why."

* * *

"All right everybody, get in to that machine." Chris instructed them.

The teams, as well as Leonard and Tammy, sat down in the chairs and put on their helmets.

"Are you guys ready?" Chris asked.

"Haha! Yeah!" Owen cheered. "Let's do this thing! Woo!"

"Please just stop talking for like, five seconds." Anne Maria told him. "God."

"Oh… Sorry." Owen apologized.

"Here we go everyone." Chris told the contestants. "Good luck."

Chef pulled a lever on the machine in the centre of the room.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Scott)**

"I didn't really know what to expect out of that challenge." Scott admitted. "Especially on account of those two lunatics being allowed to play villain."

* * *

Inside the virtual world, the Writers awoke, lying on the ground in what appeared to be the garden in front of a large stone wall.

"Ugh… Where are we?" Anne Maria muttered as she got up.

"I'm surprised Chris didn't make us dress up for this one." Zoey remarked.

"Count us lucky we didn't." Leshawna said. "I hated that super hero costume."

"Hey, where's everybody else." Sugar asked.

"Maybe they were put at another opening to the labyrinth?" Dave suggested.

"That would make it more of a maze than a labyrinth." Harold pointed out.

"Nobody cares." Scott told him. "Now come on, let's get into there."

Meanwhile, the Editors woke up on the ground near a completely different gate.

"All right, where are we now?" Shawn asked as he stood up.

"This place looks pretty." Beth remarked.

"Yeah man, I was expecting a lot worse." Geoff said.

"It's probably just a trap." Jo speculated. "Keep your eyes out for anything."

"Like what exactly?" Sky asked.

"I don't know." Jo admitted. "I'll know it when I see it."

Just then, a large group of what appeared to be floating, glowing, balls of light flew by the contestants.

"Ooh, those must be fairies." Lightning remarked, sounding excited. "Uh… Lightning means, he don't care 'bout that."

"Careful around those fairies." Beth told him. "In the movie they bit people."

"Oh yeah, I remember that." Geoff remarked.

"Sha-what? Why would a fairy bite someone?" Lightning asked. "I gotta see this."

Lightning approached one of the fairies and held out his hand.

"Yo, fairy girl, do ya really bite people?" Lightning asked the fairy.

The fairly flew up to Lightning and landed in his hand.

"Hey, ya seem pretty nice." Lightning remarked. "What's-"

Lightning was cut off by the fairy biting down on his finger.

"Sha-ow!" Lightning exclaimed, shaking the fairy off his hand. "Damn, they were right."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Shawn)**

"So that guy was really a finalist?" Shawn remarked. "Huh, I guess it really is possible for anyone to make it far. To be fair he seems slightly more competent than Sugar and she also made it pretty far."

* * *

The scene changed back to the Writers who had just entered the maze through the front gate.

"Do you know where we're going?" Zoey asked.

"We kinda can't." Anne Maria pointed out. "This is a labyrinth. The whole idea is that we don't know which way is up."

"Whadda you mean? Up is that way." Sugar said, pointing to the sky.

"It's an expression." Anne Maria told her. "Sheesh, and people say I'm dense sometimes."

"Hey! Take that back right now!" Sugar demanded.

"Guys, guys, let's all keep it calm." Dave suggested.

"Heh, so what were some of the things that happened in the movie again?" Owen asked. "It's been a while."

"Dunno, I've never seen it." Leshawna replied.

"All I really remember is David Bowie looking really hot." Zoey admitted.

"I think there was like a goblin or troll that followed that one girl around." Scott said. "It was a weird movie"

"I have an idea. Maybe we can mark the walls so that we know which way we're going." Harold suggested.

"That's a pretty good idea." Leshawna agreed. "But do we have anything we can write with?"

"I didn't think about that." Harold admitted.

"What's the point of marking this stuff down. Chances are Chris is just going to find a way to mess it up for us." Dave interjected.

"Jeez, talk about a Debbie downer." Scott remarked.

"Did you really just say "Debbie downer"? I mean, really?" Leshawna asked.

"Yeah, I'm a little embarrassed now." Scott admitted.

"I don't see anything wrong with it." Owen said.

"Guys, can we stay on topic?" Zoey asked.

"Right, does anyone have anything we can write with?" Leshawna asked her teammates.

"I always keep a piece of chalk in my pocket for emergencies." Sugar told her.

"Wh-why?" Dave asked.

"Ya never know when you might wanna play hopscotch." Sugar explained.

Sugar took a piece of chalk from her pocket and gave it to Harold.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Anne Maria)**

"She's dumb, but she got us outta that problem." Anne Maria remarked. "So I can't judge her for that."

* * *

Harold took the piece of chalk from Sugar and marked a brick on the wall with an X.

"All right, if we see that X, that means we've been here." Harold told his team. "Remember that."

Meanwhile, the Editors had just entered another part of the labyrinth.

"So those two guys from before, they won't be an actual threat, right?" Beth asked as they walked.

"It's very unlikely." Shawn agreed. "I was on the same team as Leonard and he seemed a little bit too crazy. And keep in mind, my team also had a woman who acted like a princess."

"Hmmph, if a zombie conspiracy theorist admits someone is a nutcase that must really mean something." Jo muttered to herself.

"Y'know I think I recognize them." Geoff remarked. "Yeah, they were on that race show me and Brody did. Didn't really talk to them 'cause they got booted first."

"Lightning sees why. Those dudes are nuts." Lightning said.

"Guys, let's focus on the task at hand right now." Jasmine suggested. "For starters, which way are we supposed to go right now?"

"It's impossible to tell." Jo replied. "Let's just go in a random direction and slowly eliminate all the dead ends."

"Lightning could climb over the wall." Lightning suggested.

"That sounds kinda dangerous, dude." Geoff pointed out.

"You need to man up, bro." Lightning told him. "Someone give Lightning a boost over the wall."

"I 'ave to agree with Geoff. This idea of yours seems a little unsafe." Jasmine said.

"Jasmine, for once we see eye to eye." Jo remarked before turning to Lightning. "Yeah, we're not climbing them."

"Fine…" Lightning grumbled.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Lightning)**

"Man, Jo doesn't know what he's talkin' about. If Lightning had his way it'd take twenty minutes to win that challenge. Maybe less." Lightning told the audience.

* * *

The scene changed back to the Writers wandering through the maze.

"Have any of you seen any X's?" Harold asked. "We need to make sure we haven't been here yet."

"Nothing yet." Owen replied.

"Well keep an eye out." Harold told him.

The team continued through the labyrinth path until they came to two closed doors in front of them. In front of each door stood a man dressed like a jester.

"Okay… What the heck is this?" Anne Maria asked.

"Greetings." The jester to the right side said.

"If you want passage through the maze you must pass our test." The jester on the left explained.

"For one of us tells the truth and the other only lies." The right jester went on.

"So you must ask each of us a single question and when you think you know which of us is the truth teller, you get our key." The left jester continued.

"But choose wrong and suffer a horrible fate." The right jester concluded.

"Wait, if one of you tells the truth and the other lies, doesn't that mean only half of what you just said was the truth?" Scott pointed out.

"Well, no, we don't do that bit while we explain." The left jester answer. "Now come on, ask me and my brother one question each."

Harold turned to his team.

"Not to worry guys, this is an old riddle." Harold told his team. "Hmm… If only I could remember the answer."

"I have an easy way around this." Zoey remarked. "Watch."

"Uh, are you sure?" Dave asked.

"You need to have some more faith." Zoey told him.

Zoey approached the right jester and held up her right hand open and the index finger of her left hand for him to see.

"How many fingers am I holding up?" Zoey asked the jester.

"Easy, five." The right jester replied.

"Aha!" Zoey cheered. "I knew it'd be easy."

"Hmm, well whadda you know." Leshawna said.

"Yeehaw! This challenge is gonna be a breeze!" Sugar cheered.

The team approached the left jester and Dave took the key.

"Y'know, maybe this won't be so bad." Dave remarked.

He put the key in the keyhole and turned it. This caused a trapdoor to open beneath the Writers and all of them fell down a long dark chute.

"I don't get it! What did I do wrong!" Zoey exclaimed as she fell.

"Thumbs aren't fingers!" The right jester shouted down to them. "At least that's the way I count it!"

* * *

 **(Confessional: Zoey)**

"If it wasn't for that technicality we would have been able to pass." Zoey argued. "Life is so unfair sometimes."

* * *

Meanwhile, the Editors were walking through a different part of the maze.

"Lightning's just sayin' we shoulda climbed over the wall." Lightning said.

"But that's cheating." Beth pointed out.

"So what?" Lightning asked. "If the other guys had someone strong like Lightning on their team they'd do it."

"We've already found like, three dead ends. Maybe we shoulda listened to him." Geoff suggested.

"Ya see, he agrees with me." Lightning said.

"Lightning, please stop talking." Jo told him.

The Editors continued through the labyrinth for a bit more until they discovered a part of the maze that looked like the floor had collapsed leaving a pit. The only was across the pit appeared to be a rickety rope bridge.

"Huh, didn't expect to see that inside a labyrinth." Sky admitted.

"Doesn't look too bad." Jasmine remarked. "C'mon, let's cross."

They began to cross but they were stopped when a short, hairy, green skinned man dressed in rags jumped up on the bridge from beneath.

"Halt! None shall pass!" The little man exclaimed.

"Who the hell are you?" Jo asked.

"You may call me: The Bridgekeeper!" The man dramatically announced.

"So Mr. Bridgekeeper, can we please get past?" Beth politely asked.

"Uh, what part of "None shall pass" was so confusing to you?" The Bridgekeeper replied.

"Is there any way at all to get around you?" Sky questioned.

"As a matter of fact, there is." The Bridgekeeper told her. "You must answer my three riddles."

"Ugh, we don't have time for this fairytale crap. Just let us through." Jo demanded.

"No! Answer my riddles!" The Bridgekeeper angrily replied.

"Lightning's got this." Lightning said. "This time, you gotta trust him."

Lightning approached the Bridgekeeper.

"So, you're the one who wants to answer my riddles." The Bridgekeeper remarked. "Well be warned, if you fail, you will face the consequences."

He ignored the Bridgekeeper and simply picked him up.

"What are you doing! Put me down!" The Bridgekeeper demanded.

"Sha-bye." Lightning told the Bridgekeeper before tossing him off the bridge.

"L-Lightning, did you just kill a guy?" Beth asked.

"Naw, he's fine." Lightning replied.

"I can't feel my toes…" The Bridgekeeper muttered from the bottom of the pit.

"See." Lightning said.

"Well, that was certainly one way to solve the problem." Jasmine remarked. "Guess we'll carry on."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Beth)**

"Y'know, I actually kinda wanted to hear those riddles." Beth admitted. "Oh well, at least we got through quicker I guess."

* * *

Meanwhile, the Writers were continuing to fall down the chute from before.

"I still say thumbs count as fingers!" Zoey said as she fell.

"We can argue about that once we hit the ground!" Leshawna replied. "Well, _if_ we ever do."

After a few more moments, the Writers crashed down at the bottom of the chute. They all slowly stood up and found themselves in an underground cavern.

"Ugh… Where are we now…" Owen murmured.

"So are we stuck down here?" Anne Maria wondered.

"No. This happened in the movie too." Harold told her. "There's probably a way out."

"Well, I guess we just have to walk now." Dave remarked. "This is gonna suck…"

"Let's just start now so we can make up time a bit quicker." Scott suggested.

The Writers began walking through the tunnel.

"I'm really sorry about messing up the whole thing with the jesters." Zoey apologized. "I still say they cheated."

"It's fine. Nobody's mad at you." Leshawna told her.

"Don't speak for all of us." Scott remarked. "Although, I'm more mad at the jesters than you."

"Oh, thanks… Kinda." Zoey replied.

"So how are we supposed to get back up?" Owen asked.

"Well, in the movie they climbed a ladder to get back up." Harold explained. "We just keep an eye out for that."

"How much walking is going in to be involved in this?" Dave asked. "This place doesn't look clean."

"Relax. It's not real." Leshawna reminded him.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Dave)**

"Next time I hope Chris chooses a safer movie." Dave remarked. "Falling through a large trapdoor was not on my list of things to do today."

* * *

"So what happened down here in the movie, Harold?" Leshawna asked.

"Well, they met some talking walls." Harold replied.

"Heh, that was funny." Sugar remembered.

"And they were also chased by a giant machine." Harold went on.

"Huh… Forgot 'bout that." Sugar remarked.

"Hopefully we don't run in to that." Anne Maria commented.

A mechanical whirring sound started up behind that team.

"I'm afraid to turn around." Anne Maria said.

She slowly turned her head and saw and massive tunnelling machine heading towards them.

"Run!" Anne Maria exclaimed.

The Writers began fleeing from the oncoming machine.

Meanwhile, in the centre of the labyrinth Tammy and Leonard were in the throne room of their castle.

"Wow, this is so amazing!" Tammy cheered. "This is the best castle we've ever been in."

"Even better than Fort Greyhallow?" Leonard asked.

"Oh, much better." Tammy replied. "So, what should we do with our new power as evil overlords."

"Hmm, there are so many things." Leonard remarked. "Do we have any minions?"

"Probably." Tammy said. "Eee! I'm so excited."

"Tammy the Destroyer, find our nearest squadron of soldiers and send them to take out our enemies." Leonard told her.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Leonard)**

"Although I am the hero in real life, being a villain was a fun change." Leonard admitted. "But dragon slaying is more fun than controlling dark armies so I think I'll stick to heroism."

* * *

Meanwhile, the Editors were continuing to meander through the maze.

"Y'know, it's kinda boring out here." Geoff remarked. "Nothing's happened since that weird bridge troll guy."

"It's better if nothing does happen." Jo told him. "Because if something happens we have to do some sort of stupid puzzle… Or Lightning can just try to kill them again."

"Sha-yeah!" Lightning cheered. "Wait… That's a weird thing to cheer about."

The Writers came to an open spot in the maze that appeared to be a garden.

"Hey, this is pretty nice." Shawn remarked. "It's gotta be a trap…"

"Why makes you say that, man?" Geoff asked.

"Yeah, this place looks all right to me." Beth added.

"Something about this place seems off." Shawn told him. "Quick, let's find a way out."

"Shawn, I don't see what you're so worried about." Sky commented. "Seriously, what could possibly-"

"Halt! Intruders!" A voice from out of view exclaimed.

A group of five short goblins wearing armour and carrying swords step out from behind a bush.

"Who the heck are you?" Jasmine asked.

"We are members of the royal guard." The leading goblin answered. "Surrender now and come with us to see Lord Leonard and Countess Tamara."

"Oh great, they've given themselves pompous titles too." Jo remarked before turning to the goblins. "Look you little gremlins, we're not letting you stop us."

"Uh, we're goblins." One of the goblins corrected. "Gremlins are different entirely."

"Well, ya still don't scare Lightning." Lightning told them.

"Maybe ripping off your head and using it as a basketball would change your tune." The lead goblin suggested.

"Uh… Isn't this supposed to be a kids movie?" Beth asked.

"Movie? What are you talking about?" The lead goblin confusedly replied.

"I say we surrender." Jasmine whispered to her team.

"Are you insane?" Jo whispered back. "We can take these guys out, easy."

"Yeah, but this is the quickest way to get in to the castle." Jasmine argued.

"This plan of yours is awful." Jo replied.

"Ahem, we're still here." The lead goblin told them. "Now, what's it going to be? Will you surrender, or will we have to fight?"

"We choose fight." Jo responded.

"Uh, I'm sorry who's "We" exactly?" Beth asked.

"Yeah, I didn't agree to this." Geoff added.

"Too late now." Jo told them.

"Very well." The lead goblin said before turning to his colleagues. "Attack!"

The goblins charged at the Editors.

"Zombies I'm prepared for! But not this!" Shawn exclaimed.

The first goblin to reach the Editors was promptly kicked away by Jasmine with such force that they hit a nearby wall.

"I'm okay…" The dazed goblin murmured.

"These little buggers aren't so tough." Jasmine remarked "C'mon guys, we can take 'em."

The next goblin ran after Sky who quickly stepped to the side causing the attacker to run in to a nearby wall.

"You idiots!" The leader goblin yelled. "Try harder."

The next two goblins came for Lightning who picked the first one up and threw it at the second.

"Retreat! Retreat!" The leading goblin ordered as he ran off in to the depths of the labyrinth.

"C'mon, let's follow them to the castle." Jasmine instructed her team.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sky)**

"Y'know I was expecting them to put up more of a fight." Sky admitted. "I mean, I realize they were dumb kids movie henchmen. But still, that was easy."

* * *

Meanwhile, underground, the Writers were still on the run from the tunnelling machine.

"Harold! How did they get away from this in the movie!" Zoey asked as they ran. "Again, I don't remember much other than David Bowie's hotness!"

"They ducked into a side tunnel." Harold explained. "I don't see any but keep your eyes peeled."

"All our eyes are gonna be peeled if that damn machine catches us!" Anne Maria yelled.

Ooh! I think I see something!" Owen cheered as he pointed to an oncoming side tunnel.

"Great, now all we gotta do is not get turned to paste." Scott remarked. "Which at this point seems impossible."

"Don't say that. We can make it." Leshawna tried to motivate her team.

The Writers were able to reach the tunnel and ducked into it before the drilling machine went past them.

"Phew… Made it…" Dave panted.

"I feel like I'm 'bout to pass out." Sugar remarked.

"Oh, you didn't run for that long." Scott told her.

"I gots myself short legs and a large upper body." Sugar argued.

"Can we please focus on finding a way out?" Harold asked.

"Yeah, it smells like dead fish and melting candles down here." Anne Maria added.

"Well, we'd better start looking." Leshawna said. "Fast. It's way too dark down here."

"Ooh, I think I see something!" Owen cheered, pointing to a nearby ladder.

"This had better lead to somewhere good." Scott remarked.

"Well, it's better than staying down here." Zoey said. "That's for sure."

The Writers began climbing up the ladder out of the tunnel they were in. Eventually, they reached the lid at the top and pushed it open. All of the contestatns on the team climbed out and found themselves in a forest.

"What the- Why're we in a forest?" Anne Maria asked. "I thought this was supposed to be a maze."

"Don't worry, this happened in the movie too." Harold said. "Keep an eye out for people who can swallow their own eyeballs."

"Oh yeah, I remember that." Zoey remarked. "That was weird."

The scene changed to the Editors running through the maze.

"Where'd that little goblin guy go?" Lightning asked.

"I think we lost him." Jasmine replied.

"So where are we now?" Beth asked.

"No idea." Jo admitted.

"How do you think the other team is doing?" Sky asked.

"Hopefully worse than us." Jo replied.

"Dude, that's an awful thing to hope." Geoff remarked.

"Do you really wanna lose again?" Jo asked.

"I mean…. Guess not." Geoff replied. "But like, they're nice people."

"Guys, can we focus on the labyrinth right now?" Shawn asked. "Let's just stop talking, and keep walking."

The Editors continued through their path in the maze. They took a left at a divergence in the path and found very quickly found themselves standing in front of a large circular portion of the labyrinth filled with water.

"Huh… Didn't expect that one." Sky commented. "How do we get through here?"

"Psht, doesn't look that deep." Lightning remarked. "Let Lightning have a shot at this."

Lightning stepped into the water. He immediately slipped and fell into the deep pond. Lightning resurfaced and climbed back up to the rest of his team.

"Sha-damn! That stuff is deep!" Lightning exclaimed.

"All right… Clearly, jumping in head first is not a good idea." Jo remarked.

"There's lotsa mud in there too." Lightning added. "Does Lightning have any on him."

"There are more pressing matters right now." Jasmine told him.

"Anyone have any ideas on how to get to the other side?" Beth asked.

Shawn looked at the pond and scratched his chin in thought.

"I think I see something." Shawn remarked.

"What is it, man?" Geoff asked.

"Right there." Shawn replied, pointing to a very narrow ledge on the side of the wall around the pond. "There's just enough room for us to get around."

"Y'know, we could just swim across." Sky suggested.

"Nuh uh. Not after what Lightning just went through." Lightning replied. "It's cold, muddy, and deep."

"I kinda agree with Sky actually." Jo admitted.

"Do ya want soggy close for the rest of the challenge, bro?" Lightning asked.

"Jeez, if you're gonna keep whining I'll just stop." Jo grumbled.

"All right, now, as I was trying to say, there's enough room to go around the pond." Shawn explained. "We just need to be very careful about it. I say we go two at a time."

"But there are seven of us." Geoff pointed out.

"Well, how does three groups of two and one group of one sound?" Shawn suggested.

"I guess that works." Jo said. "Now c'mon let's cross. I don't wanna lag behind the other team."

"Arright, I'll go first." Jasmine told her team. "I'll make sure it's safe for everyone else."

Jasmine stepped out on to the narrow ledge and began to inch her way across.

"Y'know, this isn't so bad." Jasmine stated when she was halfway across. "Honestly, I think this is gonna be-"

She was quickly cut off when part of the ledge she stood on collapsed, plunging her into the cold water below.

"Well… So much for that plan." Sky muttered.

"Y'know there's a word for this kind of situation but I just can't remember it." Shawn remarked.

Jasmine surfaced on in the pond.

"Guys! I found something!" Jasmine cheered upon reaching the surface.

"Gah!" Beth screamed.

"There's an underwater door down there." Jasmine explained.

"You mean like, with a doorknob?" Geoff asked. "Or is it just a hole in the wall."

"An actual door." Jasmine replied. "It's gotta be there for a reason. C'mon guys. Let's check it out."

"Hmm…." Jo trailed off in thought. "Fine. Let's go swimming everyone."

"Wait? Wh-what?" Beth stammered out. "I'm sorry, can we discuss this?"

* * *

 **(Confessional: Beth)**

"I wasn't too big on the idea of climbing through a creepy underwater door." Beth admitted. "But Jo's the boss… I need to be more assertive. If I just pictured her with Heather's head, I'd know exactly what to say to her."

* * *

Meanwhile, the Writers wandered through the forest, unsure of where to go.

"I thought this movie was 'sposed to be about a maze, not a national park." Leshawna remarked.

"Yeah, this place is confusing." Owen added.

"On the bright side, at least we haven't had any trouble yet." Sugar said.

"No! Don't say that." Dave told her. "The moment you do something bad is gonna happen."

"Oh shut up. You're not exactly boosting morale." Scott told him.

"Sorry." Dave apologized. "I've still been thinking about Sky and it's really getting about me. I feel like I should talk to somebody about that."

"Nobody cares about your wrecked love life." Scott said. "Shut up and keep walking."

"Oh… Okay." Dave replied.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Scott)**

"Okay, I think I went a bit off the rails back there." Scott admitted. "It's not the worst I've done, but I probably should apologize to him… Eventually."

* * *

"So how are 'sposed to get back on track from here?" Anne Maria asked.

"Don't worry. I'm sure we'll find something." Harold told his team.

The group continued walking through the woods for a bit more.

"Hang on… I think I stepped on something." Owen said, stopping in his tracks.

"Like what?" Leshawna asked.

"Maybe a bug." Owen replied.

"I think I stepped on one too." Sugar added. "Weird."

The leaves beneath the feet of the Writers began shifting.

"That can't be good…" Zoey nervously trailed off.

The Writers backed up and a large insect emerged from the ground.

"What the heck is that!?" Scott exclaimed.

"Something we should run away from very fast." Dave replied.

"I second that." Leshawna agreed. "Run!"

The Writers began to flee from the oversized bug.

Meanwhile, in another part of the labyrinth, the Editors were swimming through a murky underwater passageway with Jasmine in front. The tunnel curved upwards and the team swam up to a trapdoor above them. Jasmine pushed the trapdoor open. Her and the rest of the team climbed up from the water and found themselves in the underground cavern the Writers were in previously.

"That's it?" Shawn asked. "I was expecting more."

"We swam through there and almost drowned so we could end up in a dark tunnel?" Jo questioned. "This was definitely not worth it."

"C'mon, there has to be a reason a door led here." Jasmine insisted.

"Yeah, tall girl's right. There's gottta be a reason for that dang door." Lightning agreed.

"Well, we're already down here and it'll take too long to get back." Sky remarked. "Might as well look around down here. Maybe this is a shortcut."

"I dunno, it's kinda dark down here, man." Geoff commented. "Maybe we should turn back."

"Yeah, what he said." Beth agreed.

"Look, we're already down here, so there's no point in turning back." Jo told them. "Got it!"

* * *

 **(Confessional: Geoff)**

"Man, why do we still keep her around?" Geoff questioned. "I mean, she's like, strong and junk but is that worth it, man?"

* * *

The Editors had begun to walk through the tunnel.

"I don't like it down here." Beth said. "Something about the atmosphere just isn't right."

"Can we just focus on walking, please?" Shawn asked. "I wanna get outta here too. The dark is a perfect spot to be attacked."

"Dude, majorly not helping." Geoff told him.

"Sorry." Shawn apologized.

The same metallic whirring as before started up behind the Editors.

"Hey, are you hearing that or are my ears just ringing?" Sky asked.

"No… I'm getting it too." Beth replied.

"What are you guys talkin' about?" Lightning asked. "Lightning don't- No, wait, now he hears it."

"Think we should run?" Shawn asked.

"No, let's not jump to any conclusions." Jasmine told him. "Maybe it's just-"

Jasmine looks behind her and sees the enormous tunneling machine approaching.

"No, never mind, we should definitely run." Jasmine decided.

The Editors began running away from the enormous drill coming towards them.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jasmine)**

"Hmm… Maybe we shoulda just skipped the underwater door." Jasmine admitted.

* * *

Meanwhile, Leonard and Tammy were up in their throne room at their castle.

"So, tell me Tammy, do we have any news from the scouts?" Leonard asked his friends.

"Not yet." Tammy replied. "But they'll have to get here soon."

Just then, the lead goblin who previously fought the Editors ran in to the throne room.

"Sire! I have news!" The lead goblin announced.

"Huzzah!" Leonard cheered. "What news do you bring."

"The team with the tall woman fought me and my men." The lead goblin replied.

"You didn't win, I take it?" Tammy asked.

"Uh… No sir." The goblin replied.

"To the dungeon with you!" Leonard dramatically proclaimed.

"Please not that!" The goblin begged.

"Isn't that a bit harsh?" Tammy asked.

"You're right Tammy." Leonard admitted, turning back to the goblin. "Okay, now you're just demoted."

"Aw…" The goblin sighed. "Well, beats being in the dungeon I guess."

Meanwhile, the Writers continued to run through the forest with no clear path in sight.

"Have we lost it yet?" Zoey asked.

"I think so." Leshawna replied, looking behind her.

With this information the Writers stopped in their tracks.

"Let's never do that again." Anne Maria stated.

"So now what?" Owen asked. "Where do we go?"

"I don't wanna be the "All hope is lost" guy… But we seem pretty lost right now." Dave commented.

"Don't worry, we can't be that lost." Harold said. "For all we know the bug led us closer to where we needed to go."

"Let's hope that's the case…" Dave sighed. "Otherwise our entire team is screwed."

"Again, not helping with the morale." Scott told him.

"Sorry again." Dave apologized.

"Look guys, let's just keep walking and hope the best." Leshawna told her team.

"That seems like an all right idea." Zoey remarked.

"Let's not go too fast. My toes are startin' to feel weird." Sugar said.

The Writers began walking off further in to the forest. While they continued walking, Scott moved to the back of the group where Dave was.

"Look, I'm going to do something I don't do very often and apologize to you." Scott told him.

"What for?" Dave asked.

"For what I said earlier." Scott said. "To be honest, I don't even know what happened with you and that girl."

"Do you want an explanation?" Dave questioned.

"Well, kinda." Scott replied. "Everyone always has a different story of how they broke up with their girlfriend."

"Sky wasn't even my girlfriend." Dave told him. "She already had a boyfriend and I didn't find out until much later. I still don't get it. She could have told me earlier. I wasn't stopping her or anything."

"Uh huh. That's nice." Scott replied.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Scott)**

"Yeah, I probably shouldn't have asked." Scott remarked. "Although… Dave might make a good ally… But he also might get annoying."

* * *

The scene changed back over to the Editors running from the giant tunnelling machine chasing them.

"This was a sha-horrible idea!" Lightning shouted as he ran.

"My legs are getting tired…" Beth tiredly said.

"We have more important things to worry about!" Shawn exclaimed.

They continued running until Sky spotted a tunnel diverging to the right up ahead.

"There! There's our exit!" Sky frantically told her team. "C'mon, let's hurry!"

The Editors began to run faster before ducking in to the area Sky had pointed to. The tunnelling machine went right past them.

"Phew… I was getting real worried, man." Geoff remarked.

"So what do we do from here?" Beth asked.

"Keep looking for a way out. That's what." Jo told her.

"That's kinda vague." Shawn pointed out.

"Can you please just shut up." Jo requested. "I don't need to hear anybody else talk right now."

After a short awkward silence, the Editors began walking once more.

"So, like, what are we looking for?" Geoff asked.

"Yeah, Lightning's a little confused." Lightning added.

"A ladder, another tunnel, anything that can get us back to the surface." Jasmine explained.

"What about a door?" Shawn asked.

"Yes, something like that may work too." Jasmine agreed.

"No, I mean I see a door." Shawn clarified, pointing to a door up ahead.

"Oh, didn't see that." Jasmine admitted.

"Well, what are we all waiting for?" Jo asked. "Let's see what's through there."

Sky was the first to approach the door. She opened the door to reveal a set of ascending stairs.

"Well, this certainly looks promising." Sky remarked before looking over at the rest of the team. "C'mon guys, let's go."

The Editors walked up the stairs and found another door in a wall at the top.

"Well, here goes nothing." Shawn remarked as he reached for the door.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Shawn)**

"So far, going through strange doors had only gotten us chased by a machine." Shawn recapped. "But this was as good a lead as any so we took it."

* * *

Shawn turned the knob and opened the door to reveal that they were back in the main part of the labyrinth.

"Sha-yeah! Back on track!" Lightning cheered.

"But where are we exactly?" Beth questioned.

"Doesn't matter." Jasmine told her. "Long as we're back above ground and safe it should be smooth sailing from 'ere."

"If you say so, man." Geoff remarked.

Meanwhile, the Writers were still in the forest.

"I'm gettin' tired of this…" Sugar whined. "When're we gonna get outta these stupid woods."

"You keep sayin' that and I keep tellin' you I don't know." Leshawna replied.

"I kinda agree with Sugar." Anne Maria admitted. "This forest is gettin' old."

"Well stop complaining and keep walking." Scott told her.

Anne Maria grumbled something inaudible to herself and the team continued walking.

After walking for a bit more, the Writers came across a large wall with a door in it.

"Ha! We found it!" Dave cheered. "So, now what?"

"Well, if this was what we were looking for, we go through." Harold told him.

"Hmm, hopefully we don't run in to any more jesters." Zoey remarked. "Those last guys were jerks."

Harold opened up the door and they found themselves back in the main area of the labyrinth.

"Should we go left or right?" Anne Maria asked.

"I say we go… Right." Scott decided.

"What makes you say that?" Zoey asked.

"Nothing. I chose at random." Scott admitted.

"Might as well." Leshawna said.

The Writers began walking down the path to the right.

"So what do you guys think? Are we ahead or behind the other team?" Dave asked.

"It's best not to dwell on it." Harold told him.

"I guess." Dave replied.

Meanwhile, the Writers were wandering through the maze.

"Are we getting anywhere?" Geoff asked. "'Cause like, I feel like we're going nowhere."

"Geoff, I really don't mean to be rude, but you're getting a little bit distracting." Jasmine told him.

"Oh, sorry man." Geoff apologized.

"LIghtning kinda agrees with pink jacket here." Lightning stated. "Lightning wants to know where we're going."

"Look, we don't know where we are. This maze is confusing." Shawn told him.

The Writers continued in quiet for a few more moments before coming across a large metal gate being guarded by a creature identical to the one the faced on the bridge.

"Halt! None shall pass me!" The creature announced.

"Sha-what! Didn't Lightning get rid of you?" Lightning asked.

"What? I've never met you." The creature said. "I am the Gatekeeper and none shall pass me?"

"Are you related to the Bridgekeeper?" Sky asked.

"Yes. He's my cousin." The Gatekeeper replied. "Hey! Stop trying to distract me! You must answer my three riddles!"

"Dang it… Lightning can't throw this guy off a bridge." Lightning realized.

"All right, Gatekeeper. We'll play your game." Shawn told him. "What's your first riddle."

"What has four legs in the morning, two in the afternoon, and three at night?" The Gatekeeper asked.

"Seriously?" Jo replied. "That's your riddle? You chose the most well known riddle in all of history? Fine. Be that way. The answer is a human."

"Wrong!" The Gatekeeper announced. "The correct answer is an amorphous blob that can shapeshift at will. It can change the amount of legs it has at any given time."

"Well how was I supposed to know that?" Jo asked.

"If you were smarter, you would have figured it out." The Gatekeeper told her. "Tell you what. Since I'm feeling charitable, I'll give you a second chance. If you're able to solve this riddle and the one after it. You're free to pass."

"All right, give it to us." Shawn said.

"The man who makes it, doesn't want it. The man who buys it, doesn't use it. The man who needs it, doesn't know it. What am I?" The Gatekeeper gave the second riddle.

"I heard this one… Isn't that like, a coff-" Geoff began before Jo put her hand over his mouth.

"He's trying to trick us. It's not what you think." Jo told him. "Go against your instinct here."

"Is it... One of those novelty finger traps?" Sky guessed.

"Incorrect!" The Gatekeeper announced. "The actual answer is a coffin."

"Dude, I was about to say that." Geoff remarked.

"Curse you and your inconsistent riddles!" Jo shouted at the Gatekeeper.

"Sorry ma'am. I make the rules around here." The Gatekeeper told her. "Now you'll have to find another way in."

"Lightning, take care of him." Jo ordered Lightning.

"You got it, man." Lightning replied.

"I'm sorry, wh-" The Gatekeeper began before he was picked up by Lightning and slammed in to the very gate he was guarding multiple times. "You can come in now… The castle is just around the corner…"

"Sha-thanks." Lightning replied as he took a key from the Gatekeeper's pocket.

He unlocked the gate and the rest of the team went through it with him.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Shawn)**

"Well, that was certainly one way to get what you want." Shawn remarked. "Violent, but effective. I've gotta write that down."

* * *

Elsewhere in the labyrinth, the Writers continued to wander around the maze.

"This challenge is stupid…" Sugar complained. "It's makin' me hate this dang labyrinth."

"It's technically a maze." Harold told her. "It has to have only one entrance to qualify as a labyrinth."

"Nobody cares." Scott told him. "We can focus on your obscure facts later."

"It's not that obscure." Harold defended. "Someone back me up on this."

"I think I might have known that." Dave remarked.

"I hope we find something soon." Zoey commented. "I'm not sure how much more mindless walking I can take."

"Keep goin'." Leshawna told her. "We have to find something at some point."

"If ya say so." Anne Maria remarked before lowering her voice. "… Not sure if I believe you."

The Writers continued on through the maze until they found an are where the walls stopped and revealed a large castle on the other side of a stone bridge over a gigantic gorge.

"Huh… I take my words back." Anne Maria commented.

"What words?" Leshawna asked.

"Uh, nothing." Anne Maria said.

"Guys? Is this what we're looking for?" Owen asked.

"No. It just happens to be different giant castle at the centre of a maze." Scott sarcastically told him.

"Well, come on guys. Let's get across." Zoey said.

The Writers began to cross the bridge only for them to feel a great rumbling beneath their feet as they started.

"Um…. What's that?" Dave questioned as he and the rest of his team froze in their tracks.

"I don't know but I think we should be worried." Harold told him.

A large horned creature with dark green skin, tusks, and messy hair wearing a suit of armour climbed up on the bridge.

"You shall not enter the city without paying the toll!" The creature announced. "For I am the Toll Master."

"How much does it cost?" Sugar asked.

"Oh, it doesn't cost money." The Toll Master explained. "No. You must sacrifice one of your members to me to gain passage to the castle."

"I'm sorry, did you say one of us had to die?" Dave asked. "I must have misheard you."

"You did not." The Toll Master told him. "Now please. Decide which one of you gets to be my dinner."

"All right, I say we all do a sports team huddle." Scott suggested.

The Writers huddled up in a group.

"So what's the plan?" Owen asked.

"Well, there are several ways we can do this." Harold stated. "Plan A: We find someone to sacrifice to this guy. Plan B: We fight him. Or plan C: We run very fast."

"I don't really like any of those ideas." Zoey told him.

"Do you have anything better?" Anne Maria asked.

"Uh… Well… No." Zoey admitted.

"Of course." Anne Maria remarked, rolling her eyes.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Zoey asked.

"Ahem, can we focus?" Leshawna asked.

"I say we run." Scott said. "This guy looks big and slow. It can't be that hard. Can it?"

"Uh… I don't think I'll be able to outrun that guy." Owen stated.

"Yeah, and these shoes ain't for runnin'." Sugar added.

"Well, there's no way we can beat this guy." Dave stated. "No matter what we do it's pretty much hopeless."

"Don't say that." Zoey said.

"Ahem, have you chosen the sacrifice yet?" The Toll Master butted in.

"We're working on it." Leshawna told him.

"All right. Please hurry up so I can eat you." The Toll Master told the Writers, sounding surprisingly polite.

The Toll Master lifted his head away from the team.

"I think we can make it if we run." Scott insisted.

"I'm not so sure…" Zoey nervously said.

"Look, clearly, none of us wanna be eaten by that guy and there's no way we're beating him." Scott reasoned. "Let's just run and see what happens."

"All right… I feel like I'm going to regret this. But I agree with you." Dave said.

"It might work out. He's a big feller." Sugar remarked.

"Hmm…. I think I'll try it." Zoey decided.

"Well, I guess it's worth a shot." Leshawna commented. "What do you think, Harold?"

"Really, every plan has the possibility of a negative outcome so I guess it won't hurt to try." Harold remarked. "Let's go."

The team got out of their huddle.

"So, have you made a decision?" The Toll Master asked. "You all look quite delicious."

"In fact we have." Scott told him. "You see… Oh look, a giant flying cow!"

"Ooh! Where!" The Toll Master excitedly said as he looked away.

While he was distracted, the Writers ran past the Toll Master towards the main gate to the castle.

"Hey! Get back here!" The Toll Master yelled when he noticed the team escaping. "You can't do that!"

The Writers, noticing their ruse was up, sped up as the Toll Master approached.

"C'mon… C'mon…" Dave nervously muttered to himself as he ran faster.

The team was able to make it to the front doors of the castle and opened it up before quickly ducking inside. The Toll Master stopped just before he slammed in to the wall of the castle.

"Grrah!" The Toll Master shouted in frustration. "This happens every time!"

* * *

 **(Confessional: Harold)**

"In hindsight, that plan could have been much more thought out." Harold admitted.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Editors were in the process of crossing a bridge to the castle similar the one the other team crossed.

"Wow… That's an impressive castle." Sky remarked.

"Let's be careful." Jasmine instructed. "Chances are that Gatekeeper isn't the last of our worries."

"Whatever, Lightning can beat 'em up." Lightning remarked.

"Maybe we should go for a more diplomatic approach?" Beth suggested.

"Yeah, what she said." Geoff agreed.

"What do you two know about leadership?" Jo asked. "Come on, let's get in there and get rid of those dorks."

Shawn opened up the front door the castle revealing rustic architecture inside.

"We'll want to be careful." Shawn instructed his team. "Got it? We have no idea of knowing what's in here."

"Don't worry. We know what we're doing." Sky told him.

The group continued on through the halls of the castle. After walking through the halls of the castle for a few more moments, the team heard footsteps up ahead.

"Quick, hide." Jasmine whispered to her team.

"Where?" Beth whispered back. "I don't see anywhere."

"Improvise." Jasmine told her. "This place isn't exactly well lit."

As the footsteps approached, the Editors flattened themselves against the stone walls in the darkness, hoping not to be seen. A duo of goblins turned a corner and began strolling down the hallway.

"Do you hear something?" The first goblin asked.

"You're being paranoid." The second goblin replied.

Lightning stepped out of the shadows behind the goblins. He grabbed both of their heads from behind and slammed them together, knocking them out.

"Dude, what the kick did ya do that for?" Geoff asked, stepping out from the shadows.

"Well, Lightning figured we could dress in their outfits like in the movies." Lightning explained.

"Okay, number one, there are only two of them. Number two, we don't look a thing like them. And number three, their armour probably doesn't fit us anyway." Shawn listed.

"At least we have one less thing to worry about." Beth tried to look on the bright side.

"Well, I guess we keep walking now." Jasmine remarked before she began walking down the hallway once more.

The rest of her team followed.

Meanwhile, the Writers were in another part of the castle.

"So what're we lookin' for now?" Sugar asked.

"Well, a throne room probably." Harold told her. "It's probably at the top of the castle too. So keep an eye on the staircase."

"There was like, an upside down staircase at the end of the movie I think." Zoey remembered. "Maybe we should look for that."

"Well, I see a regular staircase." Owen remarked, pointing to a spiral staircase up ahead.

"That looks like it'll work." Lehsawna said. "Let's just remember to try and keep a low profile. We don't wanna get spotted by anyone who lives here."

The Writers slowly began to climb the staircase, trying their best to be quiet and not draw attention to themselves.

"Is this a good idea?" Anne Maria quietly questioned. "How do we even know this is the right way?"

"We don't." Harold admitted. "But it's not like this place just has a map lying around."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Dave)**

"As much as I hate to admit it, I kinda agreed with Anne Maria." Dave remarked. "Yeah she's not the smartest and uses enough hairspray to be in an 80's hair metal band, but she had a point. Were we really just supposed to wander around that castle with no direction?"

* * *

The Writers continued on up the spiral stairs until they reached a door at the top.

"Should we go through?" Zoey asked.

"Well, what's the worst that could happen?" Owen replied.

"Don't say that." Leshawna told him. "You're gonna jinx it."

"Let's just try it." Scott suggested. "If the going get tough, we run."

Scott reached for the door and opened it revealing a kitchen on the other side, revealing a goblin cook preparing some food.

"Does he notice us?" Sugar whispered.

"I don't think so." Harold quietly replied. "C'mon, let's see if we can make it through."

The team began to sneak past the cook as quietly as they could.

"Hmm? Who's there?" The cook muttered.

"Uh… Nobody." Sugar replied.

Leshawna buried her face in her hands in annoyance.

"Then who said that?" The cook asked, turning around and squinting at the contestants.

Oddly enough, despite them being in plain view of the cook, he remained friendly.

"Ah, you must be the help I ordered. It's about time you arrived." The cook remarked.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Dave asked.

"My waiters, you idiot. Weren't you paying any attention?" The cook told him. "Go bring Lord Leonard and Countess Tamara their food."

"I don't get it. Why ain't he tryin' to kill us?" Anne Maria whispered to Harold.

"He must have vision problems. Look at how much he's squinting." Harold said.

"Well, snap to it!" The cook yelled at the team. "Serve the food already!"

"Should we listen to him?" Owen whispered.

"Just go with it. Maybe it'll work." Leshawna replied.

Meanwhile, the Editors were in the process of ascending a staircase different from the one the other team climbed.

"Dude, do we even know where we're going?" Geoff asked

"I've seen enough movies to know that evil overlords like to have their rooms at the very top of wherever they live." Jo told him. "That good enough for ya?"

"I mean, I guess." Geoff replied.

"Ya don't think things guys are gonna be tough, do ya?" Lightning asked.

"Trust me, I, unfortunately, know Leonard. And even in this virtual world, he's not going to be that challenging." Sky replied. "I can't speak for his friend, but she probably won't be all that much better."

"They both seem pretty out of their minds." Beth agreed.

"Why are they even here? Didn't you say they were the first off that race show?" Jo asked Geoff.

"And the second off our season." Shawn added.

"Ahem, I don't want to be rude but I think we should focus on defeating these two instead of discussing them." Jasmine said. "How's that sound."

"That's probably for the best." Sky admitted.

The group continued until they reached the top of the staircase where a set of wooden double doors was.

"All right, let's go in." Shawn said to his team. "But let's be quiet too. We have no idea what's on the other side."

Shawn pushed the door open to reveal what appeared to be a lounge with a large group of goblin relaxing.

"Oh crap…" Sky trailed off when she realized the trouble they were in.

"Do they see us?" Beth quietly asked.

"Hey! What are you people doing here!" One of the goblins shouted, sitting up from a chair.

"I take that as a yes." Jasmine said.

"Attack!" The goblin yelled.

"Do we have to?" Another goblin whined. "We're on break."

"The master gave us orders." The first goblin told his colleague. "We have to attack!"

A begrudging murmur of agreement came from the other goblins who stopped whatever they were doing and began approaching the team.

"All right… We need to make a break for it." Jo told her team. "Run for the door on the other end of the room. And if you don't make it… Too bad."

"Wait, what?" Geoff asked.

"Run now!" Jo exclaimed.

The Editors began running towards the at the other side of the room as the goblins ran at them.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Lightning)**

"Man, Lightning's gotta admit. That was probably Jo's worst plan." Lightning remarked. "Dude musta been outta his head back there."

* * *

Meanwhile, Leonard and Tammy were relaxing in their throne room.

"When do you think they're gonna get here?" Tammy wondered. "It's no fun being an evil overlord if you can't smite anybody.

"Do not worry Tammy, there shall be plenty to smite once they're here." Leonard told her.

"All right, if you say so." Tammy replied.

The doors to the room opened and the same cook with vision troubles stepped in to the area.

"My liege, your meal has been prepared." The cook informed Leonard.

"Excellent." Leonard replied. "Tammy and I shall feast well."

"All right! Bring it in!" The cook shouted out to the hall behind him.

The Writers entered the room carrying various trays of food, attempting to look casual.

"Does he see through us…" Owen nervously whispered.

"You fool! These aren't waiters! They're the enemy!" Tammy exclaimed.

"What?" The cook asked. "Hmmph, I knew I needed my eyes checked."

"Well, I figured this would happen." Harold remarked.

"We can take 'em. They don't look that tough." Anne Maria stated.

"Oh really…" Leonard replied. "How about now!"

Leonard shot a fireball from his hand, burning off part of her hair.

"'Kay… I sorta take back what I said." Anne Maria remarked.

"Harold, I think we should have thought this out more." Dave told him.

"It was kinda hard to talk strategy with that chef around." Harold replied.

"On the bright side, I don't see the other team." Zoey remarked.

"Ahem, we're about to have an awesome battle. Can you please focus?" Tammy asked.

Just then, the doors behind them burst open once again and the Edirtors ran in to the room. Shawn quickly grabbed a chair leaning against the wall and used it to barricade the double doors.

"What is the meaning of this?" Shawn asked.

"We sorta walked through your employee lounge." Lightning explained.

"Huh? We have an employee lounge?" Tammy remarked. "I didn't know that."

"Tammy, we need to be more intimidating." Leonard whispered to his partner. "C'mon, let's fight them."

"Oh, uh, prepare to be defeated mortals!" Tammy told the teams. "For none can stop Tammy: The great and powerful!"

"Ooh, very nice." Leonard remarked. "Now attack!"

Tammy fired a bolt of shock at the contestants and it ended up hitting Shawn in the chest, knocking him okay.

"And now I can't feel my brains…" Shawn muttered.

"Quick team! Follow me!" Harold ordered his team.

The Writers dashed off behind a table and chairs while the LARPers were busy with the Editors.

"This is the best cover you could find?" Anne Maria asked

"Yeah, this place ain't safe." Sugar added.

"We just need a place to hide while we strategized. Gosh. Is that so hard to understand?" Harold told them. "Now, let's brainstorm."

Scott scanned around the room with his eyes and saw a large stained glass window in the back of the room.

"Hmm… That's a pretty nice window." Scott commented. "It'd be a real shame if someone would fall out of it. Specifcally Gan-dork and his little sidekick."

"Isn't that a bit excessive?" Zoey questioned.

"It might work though." Leshawna remarked.

Before they could talk any further, a fireball hit the table they were hiding behind, setting it ablaze.

"We'll talk more later!" Dave exclaimed in fear.

The camera moved over to the Editors running around the circular room in an attempt to avoid a stream of frost being shot from Tammy's hands.

"Hold still! It's way easier that way!" Tammy exclaimed.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sky)**

"All right, as much as I hate to say it… When those two have actual magical powers they area surprisingly dangerous." Sky admitted. "… Hang on, I kinda wanna retract this confessional. Is that possible?"

* * *

Shawn, straggling in the back of the group from the lightning bolt earlier, was hit by Tammy's wave of frost, freezing him solid.

"Shawn!" Jasmine exclaimed, sounding distressed. "Is he okay?"

"Eh… Maybe." Tammy replied, sounding unsure.

"Man, we need a better plan than running." Lightning told his team.

"Working on it." Jo responded.

"Ooh, you guys wanna see a spell I've been working on?" Tammy asked the team.

"Not really, man." Geoff replied.

"Too bad, I'm trying anyway." Tammy told them.

Tammy took a staff that was strapped to her back and held it up.

"Levitation!" Tammy chanted.

A bolt of energy was fired from Tammy's staff that hit both Beth and Sky, causing them to start floating.

"Hey!" Beth exclaimed.

"This is really annoying!" Sky shouted at Tammy.

Elsewhere in the room, the Writers ran as Leonard stood in the centre of the room and fired lightning bolts at them.

"Haha! This is just like my fight against the vampire lord!" Leonard cheered.

"Shut up!" Scott yelled at him. "None of your adventures are real!"

"Immobilize!" Leonard chanted he fired a ball of green energy that his Scott.

This caused Scot to become completely still and he fell over backwards. Dave bent down and began tod drag Scott across the floor.

"We don't have time, he's gonna slow us down." Leshawna told Dave. "Keep running!"

Dave complied, letting go of Scott and continued running from Leonard with the rest of his team.

"Not cool…" Scott was able to mutter in his immobilized state.

Leonard shoot more balls of fire at the Writers as they evaded him.

"Huzzah! You shall be vanquished soon!" Leonard exclaimed.

"You are the largest basket case I have ever met!" Anne Maria shouted at him.

"Hey, don't talk 'bout the wizard like that. He's a nice guy most of the time." Sugar told her while they ran.

"But he's not even a real wizard." Zoey pointed out.

"Take that back right now!" Sugar demanded.

"Guys! Bigger fish to fry right now." Dave reminded them.

The camera once again focused on the Editors being terrorized by Tammy.

"Haha! Nothing can stop the reign of Tammy!" Tammy exclaimed.

"That is the least intimidating thing I've heard all day!" Jo shouted at her.

"Uh, hey, Tammy, can you get us down?" Sky asked, still levitating from earlier.

"Oh, for sure I can." Tammy replied.

Tammy zapped her and Sky with another ball of energy causing them to fall to the ground and smack in to the hard stone floor.

"I guess that works…" Beth weakly murmured.

"Now where was I…" Tammy trailed off, turning back to the fleeing Editors. "Oh right, this part."

Tammy shot a ball of electric energy from her hands at Jasmine. She quickly sidestepped the electric ball and said ball of energy hit a mirror behind her. Oddly enough, the bolt of electricity bounced off the mirror and hit Tammy, causing her to fall to the ground in a stunned state.

"Ow…" Tammy muttered.

"Huh?" Jasmine confusedly mumbled. "What was that?"

"The mirror! That's their weakness!" Jo realized.

"Sha-yeah! Let's do this thing!" Lightning cheered. "We can totally win now."

"Woo! Totally, bro!" Geoff added in.

Tammy froze them both with a bolt of ice.

"Not yet you haven't." Tammy told them.

"Run and grab any mirrors you can find." Jo instructed her team.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Beth)**

"I can't be the only who thought she enjoyed being evil _a bit_ too much." Beth remarked.

* * *

On the other side of the large throne room, the Writers were dodging various firebolts being fired by Leonard.

"Haha! The almighty Leonard cannot by slain!" Leonard proclaimed.

"Hey what are they doing over there?" Zoey pondered, looking at the other team trying to grab a mirror off the wall.

"Zoey! We need to focus!" Dave told her.

"But they look like they have a plan." Zoey insisted.

Just then, a ball of fire shot by Leonard zoomed past her head.

"Eek!" Zoey exclaimed.

"Y'see, this is why you need to focus." Leshawna told her.

Just then, a ball of ice flew from the other end of the room and hit the wall behind the Writers.

"What the heck was that?" Owen asked.

"They used the mirror to deflect the spell! C'mon, let's try it!" Zoey insisted.

"Fine, but if it doesn't work, it's your fault." Anne Maria told her.

Sugar quickly took a small hand mirror off an end table behind her as Leonard fired an electrical blast of magic at them. The bolt of magic hit the mirror and was deflected causing it to hit Leonard in the face, stunning him.

"Gah! Curses!" Leonard exclaimed.

"I'm sorry wizard!" Sugar cried out.

"I shall spare you." Leonard told her. "But I can't say the same for the others."

"Get Leonard in front of the window." Harold whispered to the team. "I think I can combine that plan with the mirrors."

The scene changed to the other side of the room with the Editors dodging various spells being fired by Tammy.

"Do you really think a mirror can stop me?" Tammy asked. "I have spent years honing my magical powers."

Tammy took out her staff once again fired a stream of purple energy at the team. The beam of energy hit Geoff in the head causing him to drop the mirror he was carrying.

"Gah! Dude I can't see!" Geoff exclaimed. "What happened!"

"Don't worry it'll come back… Uh, maybe." Tammy told him.

"Man, forget this mirror stuff. Lightning's gonna do this the hold fashion way." Lightning proclaimed as he handed the small mirror he was carrying to Beth. "Sha-attack!"

Lightning charged directly at Tammy. She shrugged and zapped Lightning with a bolt of green energy causing him to freeze in his running pose and fall to the ground.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Lightning)**

"Lightning coulda thought about that better." Lightning admitted.

* * *

"Quick! Everyone grab mirrors!" Jasmine ordered the team.

"You really think I'll hit the mirror every time?" Tammy asked. "C'mon, it may be big and shiny but I rolled a very high intelligence score."

Tammy fired a blast of cold energy from her staff at Beth who quickly put the mirror Lightning gave her in front of her face. The beam of cold bounced off the mirror and hit a chandelier above the centre of the throne room.

"Aw man, that thing looks expensive." Tammy remarked.

"Dude, I still can't see so I don't know what you're talking about, but you realize none of this is real." Geoff pointed out.

"Oh yeah, forgot about that." Tammy admitted.

Over on the other side of the room, Leonard was firing various spells the Writers.

"Give up! None shall stop a wizard as powerful as I!" Leonard declared.

"Even for you, you're acting over the top." Dave remarked as he dodged a firebolt.

"Silence fool!" Leonard exclaimed.

"See what I mean?" Dave asked.

Leonard fired a ball of violet energy at Zoey who quickly grabbed a mirror off the wall and deflected it. The ball hit Leonard and sent him flying across the room in to a wall.

"Oof!" Leonard exclaimed before weakly getting up.

"Dang it, if we he was in front of the window that would have worked." Harold remarked. "C'mon guys, we need to get him in front of the window."

Back on the other side of the large throne room, the Editors were still attempting to dodge and block Tammy.

"Whee! This is surprisingly fun!" Tammy cheered as she shot a fireball at the team.

Jasmine held a mirror up before it hit her causing the fireball to hit the chandelier the ice ball hit. This caused the chandelier to fall and nearly crush Tammy in the process.

"Gah!" Tammy exclaimed in surprise. "That nearly killed me!"

"Dang it, that would have made the rest of this challenge easier." Jo remarked.

"Dude, I still can't see what's going on." Geoff remarked as he stumbled around. "When's this 'sposed to wear off?"

Geoff stumbled around and tripped over Lightning's immobilized body.

"Ow…" Geoff muttered. "What was that?"

"I'll leave you alone for now." Tammy said, turning back to the rest of his team. "I have more important things to deal with."

"Keep running." Jasmine told her remaining teammates.

Back on the other side of the room, the Writers had gotten Leonard in a position in front of the large stained glass window.

"Fools, you might as well give up. There is no defeating a wizard of my magical prowess!" Leonard told them.

"Ain't ya goin' a bit over the top?" Anne Maria asked him

"Don'cha insult the wizard like that!" Sugar ordered her.

"Who's side are you on?" Leshawna asked her.

"I'm just sayin' he's a pretty great wizard." Sugar replied.

"Why thank you Sugar." Leonard replied. "You flatter me. I'll be sure to save you for last. But your friends mmust be vanquished immediately."

Leonard fired two lightning bolts from both his hands. Zoey was unable to block with her mirror in time and got knocked back.

"Ow…" Zoey mumbled.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Zoey)**

"That was embarrassing." Zoey admitted. "I just got electrified by a guy with a fake beard."

* * *

"Haha! Direct hit!" Leonard cheered.

"I'll be all right…" Zoey mumbled from her spot on the ground. "The floor is kinda comfy right now…"

"None shall defeat the all powerful Leonard!" Leonard exclaimed.

He shot a ball of violet energy at the team. Leshawna took a small mirror from the wall and deflected it back. The energy ball hit Leonard knocking him back across the room. The force of being knocked back by his own spell sent Leonard right through the large window behind him.

"I regret nothing!" Leonard screamed as he fell from the castle.

He fell all the way from the window he was thrown from do the ground leading to his virtual death.

"Leonard!" Tammy exclaimed.

Tammy ran over to the window he just fell threw and looked down.

"Oh thank god she's finally leaving us alone…" Beth sighed.

"If you're still alive say something!" Tammy shouted down to him.

There was a short silence while Tammy waited for a response.

"I'm taking this as a no!" Tammy shouted again. "I'm gonna give it a few more seconds!"

While Tammy was distracted, Anne Maria went up to Tammy and pushed her through the now shattered window.

"Hey! That's not fair!" Tammy exclaimed as she fell from the very top of the castle.

Tammy fell all the way to the ground to her virtual death.

"Yeah, but it's easy." Anne Maria remarked.

"It's still kinda unfair." Zoey pointed out.

Just then, the contestants were engulfed in a blue light and shortly afterwards they disappeared.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Leonard)**

"I still can't believe wizards as great as Tammy and I were defeated." Leonard remarked.

* * *

Back in the real world, the contestants' machines shut off and they got up from their chairs.

"Yes! We won!" Dave cheered.

"Thanks for leaving me behind, guys." Scott sarcastically grumbled to his team. "Really appreciated it."

"Congratulations on winning, Writers." Chris told them. "Since you defeated both Leonard and Tammy, you are spared from elimination."

"Yes, being evil was a fun experience." Leonard remarked. "But we'll focus on more realistic things now."

"Like vanquishing the vampire lord Mordecai!" Tammy excitedly cheered.

"Please never bring these guys back." Jo told Chris.

"Dunno, I kinda like 'em." Geoff admitted. "Not sure why though…"

"Duly noted." Chris remarked. "Now, all of you report to the cafeteria for some food. Let's see what culinary abomin- I mean, masterpiece, Chef has made for you."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sky)**

"I'm less upset that we lost the challenge, and more upset about the fact that Leonard and his friend are actual threats when given real magic." Sky remarked.

* * *

Later, both teams were inside the mess hall eating some greenish mush from their plates. The camera focused on the Editors.

"Unbelievable. We lost for a second time in a row." Jo remarked. "How is that possible?"

"Lightning thinks y'all aren't eating enough protein." Lightning remarked.

"Maybe it's the opposite. Maybe we're like, overworking ourselves or something." Geoff suggested.

"Hmm, that makes sense." Beth remarked.

"Don't worry, I'm sure it'll all get better from here." Jasmine told her team. "After all, 'ow bad could the next challenge be?"

"If I know anything about this show, pretty bad." Shawn told her.

"Yes that's true…" Jasmine admitted. "Chris always seems to know 'ow to make thing worse for everyone."

"Let's just hope the next guests he brings in are less obnoxious." Sky said.

"I'm with you there." Jo remarked. "What is wrong with those two?"

"I really have no idea." Sky admitted. "How he ever got on this show, I'll never know."

"Man, I kinda feel bad for them." Geoff admitted. "They at least look like they had fun."

"Hey Geoff, Lightning, can you get me a glass of water and a second serving?" Jo asked.

"No way, we're not falling for that." Geoff replied.

"Yeah, Lightning ain't that big a fool." Lightning added. "You're just gonna get the rest of the team to turn against us."

"Wait, what?" Beth replied.

"Uh… Nothing." Jo lied. "You know Geoff and Lightning, they're not that smart."

"Sha-hey!" Lightning exclaimed. "Lightning takes great offence to that remark!"

"Yeah, that's not cool, bro." Geoff added.

"L-look, I didn't mean it." Jo tried to recover. "If we just look at it logically, it makes sense to vote for the least useful members of our team. Not to say that you aren't useful. You're both very athletic. Can we please forget this ever happened?"

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jo)**

"Well that was pretty much the biggest mistake I've ever made." Jo commented. "Maybe I can stick it out a bit more if I'm lucky."

* * *

Meanwhile, on the other side of the mess hall, the Writers were talking.

"Woohoo! We win again!" Owen cheered. "All right!"

"If only our food was better…" Zoey complained.

"I'll take it of ya don't want it." Sugar replied.

"Really?" Zoey asked. "This stuff is pretty bad."

"Hey, it's still food, ain't it?" Sugar said.

"I guess…" Zoey replied as she pushed her plate over to Sugar.

"Ooh, I'll take anyone's food too." Owen added.

"Here, I'm not that hungry." Leshawna remarked as she pushed her food on to his plate.

"Yum, thanks." Owen replied.

"So who do you think the other team's gonna vote off?" Dave asked.

"Don't know, don't care. As long as we're safe, it doesn't matter." Scott replied.

"Hopefully we can keep up our winning streak." Harold remarked. "But we can't get too over confident either. Hubris has been the downfall of many people."

"What's a hubris?" Anne Maria asked. "Sounds like some sorta skin condition."

"It's another word for overconfidence." Harold explained.

"Oh, uh, I knew that." Anne Maria lied. "Just testin' ya."

Later that night, the Editors had gathered in front of the stage for the elimination ceremony.

"Well, it appears you lost for a second time in a row." Chris remarked. "And might I add you were up against two of the worst competitors in reality TV history?"

"If they were so bad why did you invite them as guests?" Shawn questioned.

"I wanted to humour them." Chris explained. "Anyway, get to the voting. I've got things to do."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Jasmine)**

Jasmine showed a photograph of Jo with an X on it to the camera.

"I've wanted to get rid of Jo for a while now and this is the perfect chance." Jasmine told the audience.

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Sky)**

"On one hand, Jo's kind of a jerk." Sky remarked. "But on the other hand she's a good strategist and also pretty athletic... I'll have to think about this one."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Jo)**

Jo held up a picture of Geoff with a big red X on it.

"So long, surfer man." Jo said.

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Lightning)**

"Look, Jo's kinda annoying right now. Lightning don't know what's up with him." Lightning commented. "But he's got respect for Jo too. We've been kinda-sorta-friends since season four. Maybe he'll vote for someone else… Maybe glasses girl or pink shirt. Lightning doesn't really know what they bring to the table."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Beth)**

Beth held a crossed out photo of Jo to the camera.

"Not only did you get Lindsay voted out, but in general I just don't like you." Beth stated. "I know I'm not the smartest or strongest, but at least I'm nice."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Geoff)**

Geoff held a crossed out photo of Jo to the camera.

"Jo, bro, you're like, the opposite of chill, man." Geoff remarked.

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Shawn)**

"I really don't know who to vote for." Shawn admitted. "Is Jo's competence really enough to make up for her awful personality? Maybe I should go for Lightning instead. I need to think some more."

* * *

The scene changed back to the contestants sitting around the stage post-voting.

"So, did you have fun?" Chris asked.

"Just get to the awards please." Sky requested.

"As you wish." Chris replied. "Chef! Bring 'em out."

Chef stepped on to stage carrying a plate with Gilded Chris Awards on it.

"All right, you know how it goes. You rname gets called, you get a trophy, you're safe." Chris recapped. "So, here's everyone who isn't on the chopping block: Jasmine, Shawn, Beth, Sky, and Lightning. You're good."

Chef threw gold Chris statues to the mentioned contestants.

"Geoff, Jo, there's only a single Gilded Chris Award left." Chris explained. "And only one of you will get the pleasure of staying here. And that person is…"

…

…

…

…

…

…

"….. Jo!"

Chef tossed the final Gilded Chris Award to her.

"Haha! Yes!" Jo cheered.

"Aw… That's a bummer, man." Geoff remarked.

"If it makes you feel any better it was a pretty close call." Chris told him.

"It's cool." Geoff replied. "I had a lotta fun anyway. Later guys."

"To the Lame-o-sine with you." Chris told him.

Geoff stood up and walked down the red carpet towards the limo. He saw Tammy and Leonard standing there.

"Huh? What are you doing here?" Geoff asked.

"Lord Christopher has given us permission to ride with you in the black chariot." Leonard explained.

"Sorry about blinding you by the way." Tammy told Geoff. "It was a very high level spell. You're lucky to have survived."

"Uh… Thanks." Geoff replied as he climbed in to the limousine with the two wannabe wizards. "So, like, where do you want to go."

"We shall go forth to the hall of records and view one of their many tales." Leonard replied.

"You wanna see a movie?" Geoff guessed.

"Exactly that." Tammy said.

The limousine drove off once the door was closed behind them. After the vehicle left, Chris walked up to the end of the red carpet.

"And another one down." Chris remarked before turning to the audience. "Can the Editors break their losing streak and will Jo be able to hold on much longer? Find out next time on Total. Drama. Winners!"

* * *

 **Votes:**

Beth - Jo

Geoff - Jo

Jasmine - Jo

Jo - Geoff

Lightning - Geoff

Shawn - Geoff

Sky - Geoff

 **Results:**

Geoff - 4 Votes

Jo - 3 Votes

 **Eliminated:**

Mike, the Nice Guy (18th Place)

Max, the Super Villain (17th Place)

Lindsay, the Dumb Princess (16th Place)

Geoff, the Funnest Guy Around (15th Place)

* * *

 **In the end, this challenge wasn't as close a following a movie as I was hoping for. But that's a good thing I suppose, If I copied Labyrinth beat for beat it would have gotten boring. Also, I definitely recommend you see Labyrinth if you haven't. The puppet work holds up very well. As for why I eliminated Geoff, I actually really wanted to keep him around. But in the end I had no idea what to do with him. Oh, and just a heads up, the next chapter will be the first Aftermath. So there's that to watch out for. Anyway, if you have anything to say, please leave a review. That's all I've got to say. Thanks for reading.**


	6. Aftermath I

**This actually didn't take as long as I was expecting to get out. I guess I underestimated how long an Aftermath chapter would be. I really don't have much else to say about this. I wish I did, but I don't. Anyway, I'll just stop typing and let you read.**

* * *

A logo reading "Total Drama Aftermath" on a blue background flashed across the screen.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to this season's first instalment of… Total Drama Aftermath!" An unseen announcer cheered. "Prepare for interviews with the eliminated contestants of this season and more right now."

The scene changed from the logo to the Aftermath set used the previous seasons. However, the area the housed the peanut gallery in those seasons was empty and on the couches Geoff and Bridgette usually sat, there was Topher and Sierra as well as a very unhappy looking Blaineley.

"Welcome to Total Drama Aftermath!" Sierra announced. "I am number one Total Drama fan and this season's Aftermath host: Sierra!"

"And I'm the other number one Total Drama fan and Aftermath host: Topher!" Topher added.

"Ugh, and I'm here because these idiots apparently needed adult supervision or something." Blaineley grumbled. "I still think the producers hate me and want me to suffer."

"Ahem, script." Topher reminded her.

"Oh, uh, welcome to the first episode of Total Drama Aftermath, the part of the show where we catch up with the contestants that didn't make it too far." Blaineley explained. "As you may have noticed, our peanut gallery is empty. This is because of how large our cast is at this point and how ridiculous it'd be to fit them all in."

"But enough about who isn't here, today, the name of the game is interviewing our four eliminated contestants." Sierra told the audience. "Won't that be fun?"

"I'd rather be having dental surgery." Blaineley flatly replied.

"Why are you even here if you hate it so much?" Topher asked.

"They offered me _a lot_ of money." Blaineley explained. "Also, I still haven't found a job anywhere else yet."

"Well, enough about us, let's talk about the eliminated contestants." Topher said.

"First, we're talking to someone who's favourite ice cream flavour is chocolate peanut butter and favourite colour. That's right, it's Mike!" Sierra announced.

"How do you know all that?" Topher asked.

"It's my job, obviously." Sierra replied.

Mike walked up on stage and waved to the audience.

"Uh, hello." Mike greeted.

He went over to the couch with the trio of hosts and sat down.

"Um, it's great to be here, guys." Mike told the hosts. "How did you guys get to be hosts though? I thought this was Geoff and Bridgette's thing."

"We asked really, really, really, _really_ , nicely." Sierra replied.

"But enough about us, let's talk about you." Topher told Mike. "So tell me, what's it feel like to be the first contestant eliminated? You are now in the same grouping as Ezekiel, Staci, and… Whatever that bearded guy from my season was named."

"It's Beardo." Sierra told him. "He's currently in the process of recording another mixtape. That guy is going places."

"You know, I don't really mind being eliminated first. If all the challenges are as dangerous as the one I was in, I'd rather not participate in any more." Mike admitted.

"Hmm, interesting." Blaineley remarked.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Mike asked.

"I have no idea." Blaineley replied.

"Next question, who are you hoping wins the million dollar prize?" Topher asked.

"Well, I don't wanna play favourites, but Zoey's got a good chance." Mike answered. "She made third place the first time, and was a finalist the second time."

"Sounds like you're being a bit biased." Sierra remarked.

"Well, yeah, I am." Mike replied.

"At least you're honest." Blaineley told him.

"Thank you?" Mike confusedly responded.

"Our next question is this, who do you hope will be eliminated next?" Topher asked.

"Aw, gee, I don't really wanna answer that one." Mike replied "I don't want anyone to be upset."

"Relax, what are the chances of them seeing this?" Topher told him.

"Well, all right. If I had to pick someone to be eliminated next, it'd be… Jo." Mike chose. "I know it's kinda obvious, but she just doesn't have much to like."

"Trust me, we were all thinking it." Blaineley jokingly said. "How she's made it this far can only be attributed to dumb luck."

"Hey, Sierra, I just noticed something." Mike remarked.

"What is it?" Sierra asked.

"You haven't mentioned Cody at all during this conversation." Mike told her. "That's a step up for you."

"Oh, one of the conditions for me hosting is that I'm not allowed to obsess over Cody and his cute little face." Sierra replied. "They said it'd get too distracting… Quick, let's change the subject before I start thinking about it more."

"So Mike, if you could do one thing differently from when you were on the show, what would it be?" Blaineley asked.

"I'd probably just let go of Jo's leg during the part of the challenge with the elevator." Mike answered. "That way she would have directed her anger at someone else."

"Makes sense." Topher remarked. "One last question before you go: What do you think of Chris?"

"Uh… Don't really like him." Mike said. "He's done some _very_ questionable stuff."

"That's okay, it's just your opinion. You're allowed to be wrong." Topher told him.

"Thank you?" Mike confusedly replied.

"Well, that's all the time we've got for you." Blaineley told Mike. "Get out of here so we can interview whoever's next."

"Where do I go?" Mike asked.

"Take a seat in the abandoned peanut gallery." Sierra instructed him. "Now with actually peanuts included."

"Was that a joke or are you serious?" Mike said.

"Nope, there's a bag of peanuts under your seat." Sierra explained.

"Well, all right then." Mike remarked before getting up from the couch. "Uh, thanks for talking… I guess."

Mike walked over to the peanut gallery and sat down.

"All right, next up is the shortest contestant in total drama history as well as the one with the oddest choice in hair dye: Max!" Sierra announced.

Max stepped in to view of the camera.

"Hmmph, why does everyone comment on the hair?" Max wondered as he walked up to the couch and sat down with the hosts.

"I don't know, it couldn't possibly have anything to do with the fact that it looks like you stole it from Moe from the Three Stooges." Blaineley sarcastically replied. "Oh, and then you crashed in to a display of various fruit juices."

"You've just made my list of nemeses." Max told her as he took a notebook out and scribbled something down.

"Good luck with that." Blaineley said.

"Thank you!" Max aggressively replied. "How come she gets to have purple hair without anybody complaining?"

Max pointed at Sierra.

"'Cause I'm able to pull it off." Sierra told him.

"Debatable…." Max grumbled.

"Uh, so, tell me, Max: How are you taking being eliminated?" Topher asked him.

"How do you think I'm taking it?" Max responded, sounded unhappy. "Those imbeciles voted off the best asset they had."

"Really? Because they haven't lost a challenge since you were eliminated." Blaineley pointed out.

"Bah! That's just two challenges. The next one, that's when they slip up." Max speculated. "I'm sure of it."

"Well, only time can tell." Sierra remarked. "Actually, I can tell too. My knowledge of Total Drama has made me great at predicting stuff like this."

"In that case, will they lose?" Max asked her.

"I can't tell you. Then it'd take the surprise out." Sierra told him.

"Curses!" Max exclaimed in anger. "I'll get you for this."

"Aw, you're so adorable when you're mad." Sierra remarked.

"I am not adorable!" Max proclaimed. "I am your worst nightmare!"

"How about we just move on to the next question?" Blaineley suggested. "Who do you hope wins the grand prize?"

"Hmmph, none of those fools are worthy of a million dollars." Max stated.

"I don't think you understand how that question worked." Topher remarked. "You see, we want you to pick someone."

"Why?" Max asked.

"Dunno, it just says so in our instructions." Sierra explained. "So, if you were forced to choose with a gun against your head, who would it be?"

"Please don't use any more analogies with guns." Blaineley requested.

"Hmm, fine, since I have to choose I suppose it'd be… Scott." Max said. "He seems semi-evil. He dropped part of his team in to water in the first challenge."

"Nobody seems to be able to let him forget that." Topher remarked.

"I sure wouldn't let him. That was a real jerk move on his part." Blaineley stated.

"Next question, who do you want to be eliminated next?" Sierra asked.

"All of them." Max replied.

"Again, that's not an option." Topher told him. "Unless there's a freak accident that injures everybody, only one person is leaving."

"Fine, if I am forced to choose only one I suppose that one would be that fat buffoon, Sugar." Max said. "Or maybe that _other_ fat buffoon, Owen."

"You see, now you're getting the hang of it." Blaineley condescendingly commented to Max.

"Ooh, I have another question." Sierra told Max. "What's your next big evil plan?"

"Hey, that's not one of the questions on the list." Topher pointed out to his co-host.

"No, but I want to know anyway." Sierra explained.

"Well, my purple haired friend, if I told you it'd make it less of a surprise." Max remarked. "But lets just say when the Statue of Liberty gets re-carved with a more handsome face you'll know who's behind it."

"So you're going to make the statue of liberty look like you?" Blaineley asked.

"That's only phase four of the plan." Max said.

"This guy is a whacko…" Topher whispered to his co-hosts. "How much longer do we have to do this?"

"Just put up with it a bit more." Blaineley whispered back before turning to Max. "If you could do one thing differently from your time on this show what would it be."

"I'd be more assertive and declare myself the leader." Max stated. "Those fools would grovel before me and I would still be in the competition."

"Sure you would." Blaineley rolled her eyes.

"Don't roll your eyes at me!" Max exclaimed. "You're next, you hear me? Next!"

"Speaking of next, your time is up." Topher told him.

"What? But I'm not ready to leave yet." Max said.

"Too bad, get to the peanut gallery and help yourselves to the snacks." Blaineley told him.

"Fine…" Max angrily muttered.

Max stood up and walked over to the peanut gallery where he took a seat next to Mike.

"Oh hey there Max." Mike greeted him.

"Don't talk to me, imbecile." Max replied.

Mike got up from his chair and moved one seat over to be away from Max.

"Who's next?" Topher asks his co-hosts.

"Good question." Sierra replied. "We're bringing someone who isn't the smartest, but is also one of the nicest…. As long as you aren't Heather, it's Lindsay!"

Lindsay walked on to the area of the stage, and waved in the opposite direction of the camera.

"Hello everyone!" Lindsay cheered.

"Lindsay! We're over here!" Topher called out to her.

"Oh, I knew that." Lindsay replied as she walked over to them and sat down. "So like, what are we gonna talk about? I know you guys are like, supposed to ask questions or something."

"Well, we'll start with what we asked the rest of these idio- I mean, contestants." Blaineley told Lindsay.

"Why did you almost call us idiots?" Lindsay asked.

"Heh, I don't know what you're talking about." Blaineley lied.

"Really? 'Cause it sounded like you were really close to calling us idiots." Lindsay replied.

"So anyway, how do you feel about being eliminated?" Blaineley changed the subject.

"But you didn't answer my-" Lindsay began before Blaineley put her hand over her mouth.

"Please stop talking and answer the question." Blaineley grumpily requested.

"Ooh, yeah, I wanna hear your answer." Sierra told Lindsay.

"Oh, well, I've gotten used to it." Lindsay said. "And the limo wasn't that bad either. Smelled a bit like cat food but other than that it was mostly okay."

"That's more than I wanted to know." Topher commented.

"What? You guys asked a question." Lindsay said. "I'm confused."

"I just didn't want to know about the limo." Topher replied. "Too much information for me. Anything else you can tell us about being eliminated?"

"Well, like, sharing the car with Lizzy was weird." Lindsay answered. "She kept singing along to the radio really off key."

"Like you could do better." Blaineley remarked.

"I guess..." Lindsay admitted.

"Time for our next question, Lindsay." Topher told her. "Who do you hope wins?"

"Oh, that's easy: Beth." Lindsay responded. "She so totally shoulda won season two. Isn't she so nice?"

"Meh, she's not exactly standing out to me." Blaineley replied. "Really, she's pretty much gone next time her team loses."

"Uh, our contract says we have to be at least partially unbiased." Topher told Blaineley.

"You actually read the contract?" Blaineley asked. "Now that's hard to believe. I gave up halfway through."

"That doesn't sound like a very good plan." Sierra commented.

"It wasn't." Blaineley admitted. "But you know what they say, you learn from the mistakes you make."

"I've never heard anyone say that." Topher said.

"Shut up." Blaineley told him.

"Uh, guys, aren't you supposed to be interviewing me?" Lindsay asked. "I'm really confused now."

"Right, right, we forgot about you." Topher admitted. "What's our next question?"

"If you could choose who to eliminate next, who would it be?" Sierra asked her.

"Aw, that's such a mean question." Lindsay remarked. "Do I have to answer it?"

"Yes." Blaineley stated. "The people have a right to know."

"They do?" Lindsay confusedly replied.

"Ignore her, she's being needlessly dramatic." Topher told Lindsay. "But we would like it if you told us."

"Okay, fine." Lindsay said. "Since you're making me choose I'll go with… Josh."

"Who?" Topher asked.

"I think she means Jo." Sierra guessed.

"Yeah, her." Lindsay said. "She's kinda mean and she has a boys name."

"Solid reasoning." Topher remarked before turning to his co-hosts. "Do we have any other questions?"

"I think so. But I lost half of my cue cards before we started filming." Blaineley replied.

"How'd you do that?" Sierra asked.

"Honestly, I don't even know." Blaineley admitted. "Quick, someone think of a question. We need to fill out a certain amount of time otherwise they half my pay."

"They can do that?" Sierra asked.

"Apparently." Blaineley replied. "I got an email about it just before we started."

"Oh, I just remembered that thing we asked the others." Topher said before turning to Lindsay. "If you could do one thing differently from your time on the show, what would it be?"

"I dunno. I thought I did all right." Lindsay replied. "I don't think I would change anything."

"Really? Not a single thing?" Sierra asked.

"Well, maybe one thing." Lindsay said. "I'd eat less of Chief's food. I kept thinking it'd get better… But it didn't."

"Maybe it's gotten better now." Blaineley jokingly suggested.

"You really think so?" Lindsay asked.

"Ha, the day Chef makes a good meal is the day I stop loving Chris." Topher commented.

"Okay, how is he able to talk about Chris but I'm not able to talk about my adorable little dream boat Cody?" Sierra asked.

"Because, it's way less creepy." Topher told her.

"No way. If anything, yours is way more creepy." Sierra argued.

"It is not!" Topher angrily replied.

"This is what I've been reduced to." Blaineley muttered turning to the audience. "A babysitter."

"What was that Bailey?" Lindsay asked her.

"Nothing." Blaineley replied before looking over at her co-hosts. "Do we have any more questions?"

"I think that's it." Topher replied.

"Yeah, let's move on." Sierra agreed.

"Probably a good idea, Barney." Lindsay told Blaineley. "There's this really ugly vein on your forehead all of sudden."

"Just go to the peanut gallery…" Blaineley muttered through gritted teeth.

"Oh, okay." Lindsay replied before standing up. "Thanks guys."

Lindsay began walking in the opposite direction of where she was told.

"Lindsay, it's the other way." Topher told her.

"Oh, whoopsie." Lindsay replied before quickly turning around. "Thanks Tiller."

Lindsay sat down in the peanut gallery between Max and Mike.

"Hi guys." Lindsay greeted. "How are you?"

"I'm all right." Mike responded.

"Don't talk to me, dolt." Max told her.

"All right, now it's time to meet the last four eliminated contestants." Sierra announced to the audience. "Here's the man who had my job in seasons two and three: Geoff!"

Geoff walked in to view of the stage and sat down with the hosts.

"Whoa, this is weird, bro." Geoff remarked. "I'm used to giving these interviews, man. Super weird."

"It's great to have you on." Topher told him.

"Is it?" Blaineley asked.

"Stick to your lines, Blaine." Sierra told her.

"I told you, I don't remember them." Blaineley replied.

"You're gonna get fired. It's just inevitable." Topher remarked.

"Wouldn't mind that." Blaineley admitted. "At least then I could get a more bearable job. And maybe one that would make me famous."

"Hey, don't wanna sound self centred, but aren't we 'sposed to be talking about me?" Geoff asked.

"Right, right, how could we forget." Sierra remarked. "Let's get to the questions!"

"Geoff, how do you feel about being the most recent addition to the eliminated contestants?" Topher asked him.

"Don't mind it man. I think me and Brody did well enough on that race thingy to make up for losing here." Geoff commented.

"Really, you're not even bitter in the slightest?" Blaineley asked. "Seeing as the last time you were officially on Total Drama you were the first eliminated."

"Don't try to provoke him." Sierra told her. "You're not gonna get anywhere."

"Nah, I really don't mind." Geoff said. "Besides, now instead of running from giant monsters or whatever, now I get to kick back and relax."

"That's actually a good point." Blaineley admitted. "But what about the million dollars? What about that?"

"Don't really mind." Geoff replied. "They say it's about the destination, not the journey… Wait, uh, I mean the other way around. Hey, so, you guys got anymore questions or whatever."

"Oh, right, of course." Topher responded. "That's our job here. Ahem, next question. Who do you hope wins the million dollar grand prize?"

"Well, Bridgette and Brody aren't here, so I guess I'll go for Harold or Leshawna." Geoff chose. "We weren't even on the same team this time but they're both pretty cool dudes."

"Interesting choice." Blaineley commented.

"What's so interesting?" Geoff asked.

"Oh, nothing actually." Blaineley admitted. "I was trying to imply your choice was bad and get a reaction. It didn't work."

"You okay, man?" Geoff asked her.

"This show is soul sucking." Blaineley stated.

"You get sadder each time I see you." Topher commented.

"I try my best." Blaineley replied.

"Do you need help?" Sierra asked her.

"No thank you." Blaineley said. "Let's just focus on Geoff right now."

"Sweet." Geoff said. "Lay the questions on me."

"Who do you hope is eliminated next?" Topher asked him.

"Tough one, bro…" Geoff replied. "Don't really know. Most of them are pretty chill."

"Well choose so our show can move forward." Blaineley instructed him.

"Jeez, okay." Geoff said. "Chillax yourself, man."

"I'll do that as long as you promise never to say chillax again." Blaineley replied.

"Wait, what were we talking about?" Geoff asked. "I forgot."

"Just answer the questions." Sierra told him.

"Oh, right… What was the question?" Geoff asked.

"Ugh! Who do you hope is eliminated next!" Blaineley yelled at him.

"Right." Geoff said. "Hmm… Lemme think a bit more. Jo's really the only person on the team I don't like so maybe her. Shawn's weird but I haven't talked to him too much. Yeah, I think I'll go for Jo."

"How predictable." Blaineley commented. "Granted, I'd have chosen that too."

"Thank you?" Geoff confusedly replied.

"Don't patronize me." Blaineley told him.

"But I wasn't." Geoff said.

"Save it." Blaineley said.

"Uh… Moving on to the next question." Topher tried to change topic. "Geoff, if you could change one thing about what you did on the show what would it be?"

"Man, that's a tough question. I think I did pretty well all things considered." Geoff remarked. "Maybe I'd talk to some of the new dudes more, but other than that, I wouldn't change a thing."

"Aw, that's pretty sweet." Sierra commented.

"Really Geoff? You wouldn't change anything?" Blaineley asked him. "Not even the part where you were eliminated?"

"Well, I don't really know what made that happen, so yeah." Geoff replied.

"Fair enough." Blaineley said before turning to her co-hosts. "Hey, do we have any more questions?"

"No." Sierra responded. "But I'd be happy to make some up."

"Let's not." Blaineley told her. "I am incredibly afraid of what you might say or do."

"Fair enough." Sierra admitted.

"Well Geoff, I guess that's all we've got for you." Topher informed him.

"That's cool, bro." Geoff replied. "I'll just go sit with the other guys."

Geoff got up from his seat and went over to the other eliminated contestants.

"So can I go home now?" Blaineley asked.

"Nope." Topher told her. "We've still got more to do?"

"What more could we possibly have?" Blaineley asked.

"You really weren't paying attention to the information you got, were you?" Topher remarked.

"Pretty much." Blaineley admitted. "Just tell me what we have to do."

"Well, we are giving our four lovely contestants a chance to send a video message to one of their friends still competing." Sierra explained.

"But the catch is they don't get to decide who they send it to." Topher went on.

"Oh, well that makes things interesting." Blaineley remarked. "So we get to decide."

"Not exactly." Sierra continued to explain. "They decide, but not for themselves."

"I don't get it." Blaineely confusedly replied.

"Mike decides who Lindsay sends her message two, Lindsay picks for Max, Max chooses for Geoff, and Geoff makes the decision for Mike." Topher explained.

"Hmm… Sounds fun." Blaineley commented. "This could get interesting. All right, I wanna see where this goes. C'mon, let's go see who they choose."

Blaineley, Sierra, and Topher stood up and walked over to the eliminated contestants in the peanut gallery.

"So, I take it you heard our explanation?" Topher asked the contestants.

"I wasn't really paying attention." Lindsay admitted.

"That's all right, you'll just pick it up as we go." Sierra told her.

"Mike you were eliminated, so you pick first." Topher explained. "Choose who Lindsay sends her message to."

"Yay! Fun!" Lindsay cheered.

"Hmm… This shouldn't be too hard." Mike commented.

"Just get on with it. I've got far more important things to be doing right now." Blaineley stated.

"Okay, I get it. I'll make a choice." Mike said. "Lindsay gets to send a message to Beth. They're close friends, right."

"Ooh, I like that answer." Lindsay remarked.

"Lindsay, you now get to select for Max." Topher told her.

"This one should be interesting…." Blaineley muttered.

"What's that, Blaise?" Lindsay asked the host.

"Nothing." Blaineley denied. "Just be quick with it."

"Oh, okay." Lindsay replied. "Wait, which one of you is Mac."

"I am, you dunderhead." Max told her. "And it's Max for your information."

"Thank you." Lindsay said. "Wait, what's a dunderhead?"

"It means you're stupid." Max explained.

"All ri- Hey!" Lindsay exclaimed, sounding offended.

"Please just choose already." Blaineley pleaded.

"Oh, right, I forgot about that." Lindsay said. "Okay, Mark will send his message to… Thunder 'cause he has an interesting name."

"You mean Lightning?" Blaineley asked.

"Yeah, him." Lindsay clarified.

"Is Lightning the fat idiot with the maple leaf shirt or the white haired idiot who likes sports?" Max adked.

"The latter." Topher told him.

"Grr! Curses!" Max shouted.

"Uh, let's just move on." Sierra said. "Max, who would you like Geoff to send his message to."

"Hmm… What's the most evil choice I could possibly make in this situation?" Max pondered. "Truly, that is a riddle for the ages."

"Is it?" Topher asked.

"Of course it is, oaf." Max replied. "Now, let me think for a moment."

Max turned to Geoff.

"Who is it you hate the most?" Max asked.

"Dude, I'm not telling you that just so you can make me message someone I don't like." Geoff replied.

"Fair." Max admitted. "Fine… Give me more time to choose. Hmm…. What's the name of the insane fellow who likes zombies from my season?"

"Shawn." Sierra replied. "Born in-"

"I'm just gonna cut you off before things get creepy." Blaineley told her.

"Geoff, you get the final choice. Who should Mike send his message to?" Topher asked.

"Hold on! I demand to see Geoff's reaction for setting him up with that zombie nutjob!" Max exclaimed.

"Don't mind it." Geoff replied. "He seems kinda interesting. Never really talked to him though."

"What?! You're not angry?" Max asked.

"Nah, you coulda done worse." Geoff told him.

"Double curses!" Max screamed.

"Ahem, back to the topic." Blaineley said. "Geoff, who do you want Mike to send his message to."

"That's easy, redhead chick… Ah, what was here name? Oh, right, Zoey." Geoff said.

"Yes it is." Mike replied. "Also, thank you."

"No problem, bro." Geoff responded. "Happy to help."

"So what, do we record our messages now?" Mike asked.

"Are you kidding? That'd spoil it for the folks at home." Topher replied. "We're doing that after we finish recording."

"So wait, is that it, we're done?" Blaineley asked.

"Yep." Sierra responded.

"Oh thank god, I'm getting out of this place." Blaineley said before walking towards the exit of the stage.

"Uh… Well, I guess it's goodbye for now." Topher told the audience. "I'm Topher."

"And I'm Sierra." Sierra went on.

"And _I_ hate it here!" Blaineley shouted from off camera. "Someone find me a list of job offers and pot of coffee! I will be relevant again, dammit!"

"Um… Anyway." Topher looked back at the audience. "The Aftermath may be over but the show still goes on. So tune in next time for another exciting episode of, Total. Drama. Winners!"

* * *

 **Well that was fun. It was still shorter than I had hoped but there was no point in forcing it to be longer. I had fun writing the eliminated contestants and also, you'll be seeing the messages sent by them in the next chapter. If you have any thoughts or comments you want to share, please be sure to leave a review. Thanks for reading.**


	7. Dramatic Park

**This chapter took longer than I would've liked to get out but I'm glad I was able to publish it. I've been pretty busy lately but I hope I can get the next one up sooner. I really haven't got too much to say about this chapter. Most of my comments are reserved until the ending note. So you can read now. Enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

"Previously, on Total Drama Winners. We sent our teams in to a labyrinth of magic, mystery, and some rather contrived puzzles." Footage of both teams wandering throughout the maze. "Both teams did battle with some… Less than intimidating villains." Clips of Leonard and Tammy firing spells at the constants played next. "But in the end, the Writers came out on top once more." A clip of Tammy being pushed out of the window by Anne Maria was seen next. "And so, for a third time, the Editors were forced to eliminated one of their own. This time it was everyone's favourite surfer dude: Geoff." Geoff boarding the limousine with Leonard and Tammy was shown.

The footage switched to Chris inside his trailer sitting in a chair.

"Will the Editors be able to put things back together or will they lose yet another?" Chris asked the audience. "You'll have to stick around and find out, here on Total. Drama Winners!"

* * *

 **(Theme Song)**

* * *

It was an early morning on the film lot, and inside the boys' trailer nobody was awake except for Lightning who was busy doing push ups.

"Sha-six! Seven! Eight! The one after eight! Sha-ten!" Lightning counted.

Lightning's loud exercises woke up the rest of the boys in the trailer.

"Lightning… It's six AM. Can't this wait?" Dave asked, sounding annoyed.

"So?" Lightning replied. "Lightning needs his exercise and besides, it's healthy to wake up early. Scott gets it, he's a farmer."

"Well right now, I'm a reality TV show contestant." Scott told him. "And I want to get some sleep."

"Yeah… I don't wanna complain, but I like sleeping in." Owen added.

"I don't see Shawn here. He gets me." Lightning said.

"He's probably up in a tree or something." Harold speculated. "He seems to like to do that a lot."

"Yeah, that guy is creepy." Lightning remarked.

"Can I please go back to sleep now?" Dave asked.

"How's Lightning 'sposed to get any exercise now?" Lightning questioned.

"How about you count very quietly." Scott sarcastically suggested.

"Great idea." Lightning replied.

"I don't think Scott was being serious." Harold pointed out.

"Still a good idea." Lightning remarked.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Dave)**

"I am so glad I don't have to share a team with that guy." Dave said.

* * *

Meanwhile, inside the girls' trailer Jo was busy exercising while the others slept as well. In her case she was doing jumping jacks.

"Eleven! Twelve! Thirteen! Fourteen!" Jo counted.

"Jo…. Can you please keep it down?" Zoey requested.

"There's a thing called sleep that people need to survive." Leshawna stated.

"If ya don't I'm gonna shut yer mouth for you." Sugar threatened. "I need my beauty rest."

"Same." Anne Maria added.

"I 'ave to agree with them. Can't you wait until later?" Jasmine asked. "Or at the very least go outside? You would 'ave much more space."

"I know." Jo admitted. "Truth is, I just wanted all of you to get up and stop being so lazy."

"Well, you succeeded. Good night…" Anne Maria told Jo before she buried her face in a pillow.

"I actually don't mind waking up this early." Sky admitted. "Besides, Chris wouldn't let us sleep in too long either way."

"Don't care still tryin' to sleep." Anne Maria replied, being muffled from the pillow.

"Y'all do whatever ya want." Sugar told the other girls. "I'm goin' back to dreamland."

Sugar pulled the blanket she had over her body.

"Well, now that I've accomplished my mission, I'm going outside." Jo announced to the other girls. "You're welcome to come with me if you feel like it."

"Why not." Jasmine remarked as she got up from the bed.

"Sure, I'll go too." Sky decided.

"Good look with that." Zoey wished them. "I think I'll just nap a bit more."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Anne Maria)**

"Yeesh, Jo needs to majorly cool off." Anne Maria stated. "Who does she think she is wakin' us up at this hour."

* * *

Jo, Sky, and Jasmine stepped outside their trailer.

"All right everyone, let's go for a jog." Jo instructed. "And I don't want to hear any complaining. Understand?"

"What's that?" Sky asked, pointing to something out of view.

"Huh? What's what?" Jo replied.

Jasmine and Jo looked over at a nearby tree and saw Shawn sleeping up in it.

"Oh, that's just Shawn." Jasmine said.

"Gah! Who said my name!?" Shawn panicked, springing awake. "Don't kill me!"

In his panic, Shawn fell from the tree.

"Relax, it's just us." Sky told him.

"Oh, all right…" Shawn weakly muttered.

"Your boyfriend's weird." Jo stated.

"I know, but he grows on ya." Jasmine told her.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Shawn)**

"I get that I can act weird sometimes." Shawn admitted. "But that doesn't mean I'm not an asset. I've got a whole lot of survival skills."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jasmine)**

"Shawn's paranoia problem has gotten better since we started dating." Jasmine told the audience. "'Course, he's still got some of it. But we're workin' on it."

* * *

The camera cut to a close up on the film lot's loud speakers.

"Morning everybody!" Chris cheered over the speakers. "Meet me and Chef down in studio eight for an adventure sixty five million years in the making! Haha! Foreshadowing! I love this job."

The scene quickly changed to the contestants arriving at studio eight where Chris and Chef were already waiting.

"Ah, glad you could make it." Chris greeted. "How did you all sleep last night."

"Not very well." Scott replied.

"What he said." Dave agreed.

"Same." Leshawna added.

"Why're ya makin' us get up so early?" Sugar asked. "We ain't even had breakfast yet."

"Well, we've got a very special gift for just a few of you." Chris explained. "You see, during the last Aftermath, we gave our four eliminated contestants a chance to send four of you a video message. The catch was, they couldn't decide who they send their message two. Leading to some interesting results, but also a few predictable ones. Anyway, let's get this started."

Chef pushed in a monitor on wheels.

"There ya go, boss." Chef said.

"All right, our first message is from Mike to Zoey." Chris told the teams. "Not what I would have chosen but I guess it works."

Chef put a disc marked "Mike" into a DVD player attached to the monitor. The monitor lit up and revealed Mike on screen in front of a bright background.

"Uh, hey Zoey." The recording of Mike greeted. "I hope you're doing well with your team. The fact that you're not here with me is probably a good sign."

"Aw, he's so sweet." Zoey remarked.

"It'd be super great if you won. Not just 'cause you'd share it with me of course." Mike went on. "Although, I'm not sure what I'd buy with it. Maybe my own boat. Oh, uh, anyway, Zoey, just keep doing whatever you're doing. Even if you don't win, I'll try and plan some sort of surprise for you. I love you, bye."

The footage of the recording cut out.

"Isn't he the best?" Zoey asked.

"Meh, that was boring." Chris remarked. "Let's hope this next one is more interesting. Who's next?"

"This one's for Lightning." Chef stated.

"Sha-awesome!" Lightning cheered. "Who's it from?"

"Max." Chef replied.

"Who?" Lightning asked.

"Short guy, purple hair, he thought he was a supervillain." Chef reminded him.

"Nope. No idea what that is." Lightning said.

"Well, here's the video." Chef told him as he inserted the disc marked "Max" into the DVD player.

The screen turned on to reveal Max on it.

"Greeting Lightning, I don't know you but I am unfortunately forced to send you this message." Max explained. "I have read up on you and I have to say, you would make a fine sidekick."

"Sha-what?" Lightning confusedly said. "What's this crazy little guy talking about."

"You certainly have the strength for menial tasks that I am unable to accomplish." Max told him. "Of course, I know you're, ahem, _smart enough_ to never think of betraying me."

"Lightning feels insulted, but he don't know why." Lightning commented.

"In summation, I would like to speak to you when- Uh, I mean _if_ you're eliminated." Max continued. "Goodbye for now, Lightning."

The footage of Max cut out.

"Lightning still don't know who that guy is, but he ain't likin' him." Lightning stated.

"Who's next?" Chris asked his assistant.

"Lindsay's got a message to Beth." Chef replied.

"Knowing Lindsay, this could go any number of ways." Chris commented. "Play it, Chef."

Chef nodded and put the disc marked "Lindsay" into the DVD player.

"I'm looking forward to this." Beth remarked.

The screen lit up and revealed Lindsay on it.

"Hi Beth!" Lindsay cheered. "It's so great to record this, I've got so much to say. Like, uh… Oh shoot, I forgot what I was gonna say."

"Ugh! Just improvise!" Blaineley angrily shouted from out of camera view.

"Oh, all right. If you say so." Lindsay replied before looking back in to the camera. "So, like, Beth, um… Good luck and stuff. I really want you to be here with me. But I also don't 'cause it'd be super duper cool if you won."

"Aw, that's nice." Beth remarked.

"And also… Aw man, I forgot again…" Lindsay trailed off before looking off camera. "Why are you looking at me like that, Bentley? Oh, wait, I remember now."

Lindsay switched her gaze back to the camera.

"I bought a dress I thought you might like and I want you to try it on when you get here." Lindsay told Beth. "Which hopefully isn't for a while. And… Oh, shoot, I had a good way to end. Oh well, bye."

The footage of Lindsay went away.

"And finally, we have a message to Jo from Geoff." Chef went on.

"Why him?" Jo asked.

"Apparently this was Max's idea." Chef explained.

"All right… This could be interesting." Jo remarked. "Put it in."

Chef places the DVD marked as Geoff into the player. The screen turned on to reveal Geoff on it.

"Yo, Jo, what's up." Geoff began. "Uh, look, I know we don't have much in common. And I'm pretty sure you're one of the guys who voted me out. But, uh… Um, hang on I was going somewhere this thing. Gimme a moment."

"Well, I already want to rip his head off." Jo remarked.

"Oh, right. I'm very sure that you'll do well in the challenges." Geoff told her. "'Cause, like you're strong and stuff… Yeah. I don't have much to say. Again, we have like, zero stuff in common. So… Bye."

Geoff sat in silence for a few more moments before the footage cut out.

"Well, that didn't go so well." Jo commented.

"Anywho, that was a fun distraction." Chris commented. "Now, let's move on to the challenge. Who here likes Jurassic Park?"

"Well, I'm already afraid of where this is goin'." Leshawna remarked.

"Today, our virtual reality machine will be transporting you into our version of Jurassic Park." Chris explained.

"As long as it's not melting in the dark we should be fine." Harold jokingly commented.

The rest of his team gave Harold a confused look.

"Gosh, look it up. It's not that obscure of a reference." Harold told them.

"So what do we do for this challenge?" Shawn asked.

"It's simple. All you've gotta do is escape from Jurassic Park alive." Chris explained. "Or, if the other team is killed off entirely, you win."

"This shouldn't be too hard… Right?" Sugar asked.

"Don't say that. Now he's gonna make it harder." Zoey told her.

"You can worry about that later." Chris told Zoey. "Anywho, get into those chairs, people."

The contestants sat down in the chairs and put on the helmets.

"Here we go." Chef said, pulling a lever on the machine in the middle.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Scott)**

"I actually think dinosaurs are pretty cool… Getting eaten by them… Not so much." Scott told the audience. "But then again, I think most people would agree with me on that."

* * *

Inside the virtual world, both teams awoke inside jeeps parked on a path in the middle of a jungle-like area with large concrete walls with electric fences around them. The Editors were in the jeep to the back while the Writers resided in the jeep in front of them.

The scene shifted to the inside of the jeep containing the Writers.

"Ugh, man, why do I always feel so groggy whenever this starts off?" Dave wondered.

"All right, so, where are we?" Leshawna asked her team.

"Looks like we're in the middle of the park." Harold commented. "The good news is, we still have power so the dinosaurs can't escape just yet."

Harold pointed to a streetlight that was currently turned on, indicating the power had not gone out.

"Bad news is we don't know how long this'll last for." Harold went on.

"So what's the plan? How do we escape?" Zoey asked.

"And does this place have a buffet?" Sugar added.

"Ooh, I second that." Owen agreed with Sugar.

"Guys, we should probably focus on not getting eaten alive." Scott pointed out. "Now, does anybody here know how to drive this jeep?"

"I think I can handle it." Leshawna replied. "C'mon, for starters, we need to try and find a map."

The scene moved to the inside of the Editors vehicle.

"Arright everyone, we need to get everything in order." Jasmine told her team. "First off, does anyone have a map?"

"I'll check the glove compartment." Shawn replied.

Shawn opened the jeep's glove compartment only to see that it was empty.

"That don't look good." Lightning remarked.

"This place probably has a gift shop or something." Jo speculated. "We need to find that. Now who here wants to drive?"

"Uh, I know how to drive." Sky said.

"You sure you can reach the pedals?" Beth asked.

"Of course I can." Sky replied. "I'm not that short."

"Let her drive." Jo told Beth.

"All right." Beth said.

"Thanks." Sky replied. "Come on, let's roll out."

Meanwhile, in the Writers were driving through down the path.

"How much longer should we have power for?" Owen asked.

"A storm knocked the power out in the movie, I think." Anne Maria remembered. "It looks kinda cloudy but I don't see no rain."

A drop of water hit the windshield of the jeep.

"I think Chris heard you." Scott remarked.

"Heh…" Anne Maria nervously trailed off. "At least it's not-"

Several more raindrops fell down, gradually becoming more until it became a total downpour.

"I'll shut up now." Anne Maria said.

"You do that." Dave agreed.

"Should I drive faster or slower?" Leshawna wondered.

"Faster, I wanna get outta this place." Sugar told her.

"Are you crazy?" Zoey asked. "We could crash into something."

"I'll go at my own pace." Leshawna told them. "Now please let me focus on not crashing us in a fiery wreck."

Meanwhile, in the other jeep, the Editors were driving through the rain.

"Look Sky, no offence, but I really don't feel comfortable with you in the driver's seat." Shawn told her.

"I'm not that short." Sky insisted.

"I know, it's just the rain is making me even more paranoid. Maybe we should just slow down slightly." Shawn suggested.

"I'd listen to 'im, we might be going just a tad too fast." Jasmine added.

"Maybe you're right." Sky admitted as she began slowing down.

"Man, this is disappointin', Lightning hasn't seen a single dino since we got here." Lightning remarked. "Where are they at, man?"

"Don't tempt fate like that." Jo told him. "Chris just wants us to let our guards down so that we'll be extra surprised when one of us gets eaten by a t-rex. Well guess what, he's not getting the drop on me."

"You sound a bit paranoid." Shawn remarked.

"Oh, _you_ think you can tell _me_ if _I'm_ being paranoid?" Jo asked. "You're the paranoid one, zombie boy."

"I mean… I guess that's fair." Shawn replied.

"Hey Sky, do you know where we're even going?" Beth asked.

"No I don't." Sky admitted. "But that's only 'cause we don't have a map. So right now, I'm trying to find somewhere with a map."

"Oh, huh. Yeah, that makes sense." Beth replied.

"Well Lightning hopes we find something soon." Lightning said. "This places gives him the creeps."

"Why?" Jasmine asked.

"Lightning hasn't seen a single dinosaur." Lightning replied.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Beth questioned.

"Nuh uh, that just means they're hiding." Lightning explained his reasoning.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jasmine)**

"You know, I just don't get 'im sometimes." Jasmine remarked.

* * *

The Writers continued to drive through the roads.

"Are we there yet?" Sugar asked.

"No." Dave replied.

"You realize we don't know where "There" even is?" Scott added. "Right now, we just want a damn map. That way we don't get lost and eaten by a herd of velociraptors."

Leshawna hit the breaks on the car once she saw a small booth with the word "Information" on a big sign above it.

"This looks like a good place. Let's see if anyone who works here isn't dead." Leshawna suggested.

"Uh… I'll stay in here." Zoey said.

"Me too. I feel safer." Sugar agreed.

"Yeah, no sense in more of us dying than is necessary." Dave added.

"Fine." Leshawna rolled her eyes.

"Don't worry, I'll come with you, Leshawna." Harold told her.

"Oh, all right." Leshawna replied.

Harold and Leshawna exited the jeep together and approached the information stand. They peered inside and that nobody was there.

"That can't be good." Harold remarked. "Do you think they're dead or do you think Chris was too lazy to put anyone in here?"

"Either way, I spy a map." Leshawna replied, pointing to a pile of maps.

She picked up one of the maps from pile.

"Things can only look up from here." Leshawna said.

Just then, all the nearby lights went out.

"God dammit..." Leshawna muttered.

"Let's get back in the car. Fast." Harold suggested.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Leshawna)**

"No matter how many times it happens, someone somewhere's gonna jinx their good luck." Leshawna stated.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Editors were driving down the now darkened road in the increasingly heavy rain.

"I can barely see a thing in front of us." Sky remarked.

"Oh, don't say that." Beth pleaded. "It makes me more anxious."

"Sorry about that." Sky apologized. "Just stating the facts here."

"Maybe now would be a good time to get a little bit slower." Jo suggested.

"I actually agree with you here." Sky admitted as she slowed their jeep. "It'd be a little embarrassing to die in a car crash during the Jurassic Park themed challenge."

"Focus on the road!" Shawn shouted at her.

Sky looked up and saw she was about to crash into one of the now broken lampposts.

"Gah!" Sky exclaimed.

She swerved her car away from the lamppost. However, the vehicle then crashed into a large sign on the other side of the path they were on. Sky stopped the car completely.

"What did we just hit?" Jasmine asked.

"Well, it wasn't a person, so that's good." Jo remarked.

"We should probably get out and check." Shawn suggested. "Just in case it was something important."

"I'll get out with you." Sky told him.

The two of them stepped out of the car into the rain and went up to the sign they knocked down which appeared to be a large map of the area.

"Well… Looks like we found a map." Sky commented.

"I know you're joking, but we can't exactly take it with us." Shawn pointed out.

"We can take those." Sky replied, pointing to several maps scattered on the ground that had fallen out of a plastic holder attached to the larger map.

"Huh, well, that certainly helps." Shawn remarked, picking up a map. "Let's get back in the car. I'm wet and scared right now."

Sky nodded.

"I have a feeling something bad will happen if we're out here too long." Sky agreed.

Meanwhile, the Writers continued to drive down a different path with Dave looking over their new map in the back.

"Where's it say we should go?" Leshawna asked.

"Hmm… I'm looking." Dave replied.

"Well look faster, ain't got no time to waste." Anne Maria told him.

"All right, all right." Dave said. "Uh… Looks like there are two boats off the island and also a helicopter pad."

"Where are we closest too right now?" Harold asked.

"Ooh, and do they have a food court." Sugar added.

"One question at a time!" Dave snapped at her.

"Thank you." Scott remarked.

"I… Uh… Sorry." Dave apologized before looking back down at the map. "Uh, well, I see the information booth we got it at on the map, so I'd say we're closest to the boat on the east end of the island right now."

"What's the quickest way there?" Owen asked.

"Yeah, it's not dangerous, is it?" Zoey nervously added.

"Well… Let's see…" Dave trailed off, observing the map. "There some sort of river tour that'd get us there faster than using the main road. But it also sounds pretty dangerous."

"Hmm, I sure wanna win… We'll take the shortcut through the river." Leshawna decided.

"Ooh…. I don't like the sound of that…" Zoey murmured.

"I don't like it either but sometimes ya just gotta suck it up." Anne Maria told her.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sugar)**

"Anne's a tough girl." Sugar remarked. "'Course, that also means she's competition. Pageant rule number one: Just 'cause you like someone don't mean you gotta treat 'em the way you feel. Softies don't make winners."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Zoey)**

"I can't be the only one who thought that going off the main path in to possibly dinosaur infested waters was a bad idea, right?" Zoey asked the audience.

* * *

Meanwhile, elsewhere on the dark paths of the park, the Editors continued driving.

"So what's this map say?" Beth asked.

"Yeah, Lightning wants to know where the heck he's going." Lightning added.

"I'm checking. It's a wet map so I'll have to be careful." Shawn replied. "A map that's been ripped in half isn't exactly helpful."

"Just please tell me where to go. I don't know how much longer we can go without running into any dinos." Sky replied.

"Hmm… There are two boats and a helicopter pad." Shawn told her. "I'm not sure which we should take."

"Which one's closer?" Jo asked.

"I have no clue. I can't find any landmarks." Shawn replied.

"I'll slow down." Sky decided. "Maybe that'll help you."

"Sure, why not." Shawn said.

Sky slowed the speed of the car and Shawn looked out the window. A few moments passed and nobody said anything.

"Oh, I see a snack stand." Shawn told his teammates. "Maybe that can help us."

He looks back down at the map.

"Yep, all the concession stands are marked on here." Shawn stated. "Hmm… From here, the fastest route of escape would be the helicopter."

"Anyone here know how to fly one of those?" Jasmine asked.

"In my first season I had to build a flying machine." Jo replied. "I think I can handle it."

"All right, helicopter it is." Sky said. "Shawn, tell me where to go."

"I'd really like you to hurry up." Beth nervously urged.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Beth)**

"We hadn't see any dinosaurs yet." Beth stated. "That's just asking for a surprise attack."

* * *

Meanwhile, the Writers were still driving.

"Ugh… I'm so bored…" Sugar complained. "Can't we play a game or somethin'."

"Tryin' to focus right now." Leshawna told her. "Keep yourself entertained."

"Ain't my fault this thing's boring." Sugar stated.

"Please just gimme some peace." Leshawna requested.

"Road!" Zoey exclaimed.

Leshawna looked up and hit the breaks just as the car was about to ram into a completely different information booth.

"Thanks." Leshawna replied. "It woulda been hell to find out way out of here without a car."

Just then, in the distance, a faint sound of large footsteps was heard.

"Oh… That's not good…" Zoey nervously trailed off.

"I-is that a t-rex?" Dave nervously stammered.

"Is it okay if I scream?" Owen asked.

"We need to remain perfectly quiet and still." Harold quietly instructed. "If we make any sudden movements we may get chased down."

"I still wanna scream." Owen stated.

"We don't even know if it's a t-rex." Scott pointed out. "Maybe it's nothing."

A loud roar is heard coming from somewhere nearby.

"That don't sound like nothin'." Anne Maria replied.

"Okay… Maybe it is something." Scott admitted before looking at Scott. "What did you say to do again?"

"Stay still and quiet unless absolutely necessary." Harold quietly repeated. "Starting now."

There was a silence in the jeep as the large sounding footsteps drew nearer. Around the corner came stomping a large t-rex. It sniffed at the ground and began moving in the direction of the team in the jeep.

"You know… This is actually a step up form the mutants I had to deal with…" Zoey quietly admitted as she observed the dinosaur.

"Hey… So… This things sight is based on movement, right?" Dave asked.

Harold nodded.

"But that means they can spell us, right?" Dave went on.

"Oh… That is not good." Harold realized. "Hmm… Maybe Chris forgot to add that in? They didn't bring it up in the movie… At least I don't think so."

"Something tells me we're about to find out." Scott remarked.

"I'll put my foot near the gas just in case." Leshawna informed her team.

The t-rex drew nearer and nearer to the car.

"Leshawna… I think we should get out of here…" Dave whispered.

"I'm waitin' for the right sign." Leshawna quietly replied.

"Well that sign better come soon…" Anne Maria nervously said. "'Cause this oversized reptile freaks me out."

The dinosaur approached the car and sniffed at it before roaring loudly.

"Oh crap, I think that means we should get outta here." Leshawna stated.

"Great plan." Scott said.

"I can't tell if you're bein' sarcastic, and frankly, I don't care." Leshawna replied. "I'm drivin' like hell."

Leshawna hit the gas pedal on the car and drove straight between the t-rex's legs. The dinosaur let out a roar and began chasing after the vehicle.

"I'm screaming now!" Owen yelled.

"I feel like this was poorly thought out!" Dave exclaimed in panic.

"Oh, what, you wanna drive now?" Leshawna sarcastically asked.

"Uh, well, no." Dave replied. "I guess not."

"Great, now I need to keep on drivin'." Leshawna said as she returned her eyes to the road.

Sugar looked behind her and saw the lizard gaining on them.

"Ah! Go faster!" Sugar screamed.

"This is as fast as I can go right now." Leshawna replied. "Go any faster, and I'm gonna break something important."

"That's fair." Zoey remarked.

"No it ain't, I want outta here before I'm dino chow." Sugar stated.

"I'm trying my best here." Leshawna told her. "Now will you shut your trap?"

The t-rex continued to catch up with the jeep.

"Uh, we might want a different strategy that isn't going in a straight line." Dave suggested. "Just a thought."

"Zigzagging in the rain is dangerous." Leshawna pointed out.

"Yeah, but if we don't do anything, we'll get eaten by a dinosaur." Harold argued.

"Fair point." Leshawna admitted. "All right, I'll try it. Here goes nothing."

Leshawna began intentionally swerving the jeep around on the path in order to lose the dinosaur.

"Oh boy… I'm getting carsick…" Zoey muttered.

"Please don't throw up." Scott told her.

"Yeah, I know it would just be virtual vomit, but I'd still have to sanitize my hands twelve times." Dave added.

"I'm trying my best." Zoey replied.

The jeep made a quick turn around a sharp corner. The t-rex was unable to make the turn fast enough and crashed into the concrete walls of another dinosaur enclosure.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Dave)**

"That was a close call that I would not like to have repeated." Dave stated.

* * *

Elsewhere in the park, the Editors were busy driving.

"So how much longer 'til we reach this helicopter thing?" Beth asked.

"Not a clue." Sky replied. "Shawn's got the map."

"It's at the very centre of the park." Shawn told him. "Hopefully, we're able to reach that soon."

"What's the quickest way there?" Beth asked.

"Hmm… Good question." Shawn replied, looking down at his map. "I'll have to double check… Hmm… Well, we could either stick to the main roads or take a shortcut."

"What is this shortcut and exactly how dangerous is it?" Jo asked.

"Well… For starters we'd have to cut through a dirt road that I'm assuming is for employees only." Shawn replied. "So, there's that."

"So in other words, it's very risky." Jasmine said.

"Pretty much." Shawn stated. "But it'll get us there quicker. But there are probably also gonna be dinosaurs out there."

"Lightning hasn't seen any yet. Maybe they haven't figure out how to escape." Lightning speculated.

"If the dinosaurs didn't escape, there'd be no challenge." Sky pointed out.

"Hmm, true." Lightning admitted.

"I don't really like this backroad idea." Beth protested.

"Look Beth, sometimes, the easy way doesn't win. You've gotta take the hard route every once in a while." Jo told her.

"Okay…" Beth muttered.

"No need to be so 'arsh." Jasmine told Jo.

"Whatever." Jo replied before looking around the car. "Hey, anyone else have any objections to Shawn's shortcut?"

There was a silence in the car.

"All right then, I guess everything's looking up for us." Jo remarked.

Just then, Lightning stuck a nearby tree and caused a rather large branch to fall on top of the hood to the Editors' jeep. Sky abruptly hit the breaks.

"That does not look good." Jasmine stated.

"Should one of us check if the car is okay?" Beth asked.

"Well, obviously, yeah." Jo replied. "Any volunteers?"

"Sha-yeah!" Lightning cheered. "Lightning wants to stretch his legs anyways."

"Be careful." Beth warned. "It looks dangerous."

"Psht, Lightning knows what he's doing." Lightning stated. "So sit back and relax."

Lightning opened the door and stepped out of the car. He walked around to where the branch was an began an attempt at lifting it.

"C'mon, you got this…" Lightning motivated himself.

Eventually, he was able to lift the branch off the car's hood and push it to the ground.

"Sha-ha!" Lightning exclaimed. "Did it! Oh… Right, gotta check under the hood."

Lightning opened up the jeep's hood causing quite a large amount of smoke to come out.

"Huh… Yep, that looks broken to me." Lightning observed before closing the hood.

He walked back over to the driver's seat and tapped on the window.

"Yo! Short girl!" Lightning shouted to Sky through the closed car window. "Pretty sure our car's busted!"

"I'm gonna try starting it up." Sky told him. "Just to be safe."

Sky attempted to start the car only for the engine to make some sputtering sounds before abruptly stopping.

"Yep… That sounds broken to me." Jasmine remarked.

"What? We have to walk?" Beth asked. "In the rain? Aw man…"

"Sometimes, life sucks. Get used to it." Jo told her. "Now, let's get out of here before things get worse."

Just then, a velociraptor jumped from the shadows up on to the smashed hood of the car.

"Oh come on!" Jo shouted.

"Everybody run!" Shawn screamed.

The members of the Editors quickly exited their car and began running away.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jasmine)**

"I feel like Chris just 'as a button marked "Worse" that he just presses whenever things get too easy for us." Jasmine jokingly stated.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Writers continued to drive through the park.

"Are you sure that t-rex still ain't after us?" Anne Maria asked.

"I haven't seen it a while. So it's gotta be gone." Sugar told her.

"Dave, am I going the right way?" Leshawna asked.

"I think so." Dave replied as he looked over the map.

"All right"So Dave, what was this you said about a shortcut?" Zoey asked.

"It's a river tour attraction." Dave explained. "It gets us there faster but the downside is it's more dangerous and we'll have to leave the car behind."

"Sounds worth it to me." Scott remarked.

"The danger factor does seem rather big." Harold admitted. "But it would be worth it in the end."

"So which way is this river thing?" Leshawna asked.

"Uh… We should almost be there." Dave replied. "Just take the next left."

Leshawna complied to Dave's instructions and turned at the next left.

"There it is!" Dave exclaimed, pointing out the window.

The team looked out the window he was pointing at and saw a path leading to some docks. Above the path was an archway with a sign that read "Prehistoric River Tours".

"That looks like the place." Scott remarked. "All right, let's get out."

The members of the Writers stepped out of their jeep and walked down the path towards the docks.

"Ugh, is it me or is this rain coming down harder now?" Zoey asked.

"It probably is." Harold replied. "Let's try not to focus on it. We need to remain undistracted."

The team made it to the end of the docks where a woman in the bright yellow rain jacket stood inside a small motorboat.

"Good evening everyone, welcome to Prehistoric River Tours." The woman greeted. "I'm Trudy: Your tour guide."

"What the heck are you doing out here?" Scott asked.

"Giving river tours." Trudy stated. "It's my job."

"Uh… You realize the power's out and there are dinosaurs on the loose." Dave told her.

"Really?" Trudy asked. "That would certainly explain why nobody's out here."

"How did you not notice?" Owen asked.

"Dunno." Trudy replied. "Anyway, what are you people here for?"

"We need to use this boat to get around the park." Harold explained. "We have reason to believe it leads to a way out."

"That's great. It's just a small fee for a ride." Trudy told them.

"Um… I still don't think you get it." Dave said. "The power is out and there are dinosaurs running amuck!"

"Oh…" Trudy trailed off. "You can just pay at the end of the ride."

"What?!" Scott exclaimed. "What kind of an idiot are you!"

"Just go with it…" Leshawna whispered to him before turning to the tour guide. "All right, we'll take the tour."

"Super. Hop in the boat." Trudy instructed the team.

The Writers, followed by Trudy, stepped into the boat and took a seat.

"I ain't the only one thinkin' this gal's a few cards short of a full deck, right?" Sugar quietly asked her team.

"Just keep quiet about it, she looks helpful." Zoey whispered to her.

Trudy starts up the boat and they begin going down the river.

"All right folks, please keep your hands and feet inside the vehicles at all times." Trudy instructed. "The dinosaurs are not meant to be touched."

"Are there any water dinos in this lake?" Anne Maria asked.

"River." Harold corrected.

"Whatever." Anne Maria replied. "I still wanna hear an answer."

"There are water dinosaurs in the various other bodies of water in the park that are available for viewing." Trudy explained. "For maximum safety there have been barriers put up in the waterways of the park to keep the dangerous dinosaurs from spilling over into this area."

"Uh… Would the power going out change that?" Zoey nervously asked.

"Hmm… You know, I honestly have no idea." Trudy admitted.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Owen)**

"Aren't employees at amusement parks supposed to make the people there feel safe?" Owen asked. "What theme parks has Chris been going to?"

* * *

Meanwhile, the Editors were being chased by a small group of velociraptors down the paths in the rain.

"This is insane, man!" Lightning screamed.

"I know, if this was realistic these raptors woulda been able to catch one of us right now." Shawn remarked.

"I don't think that's what he meant!" Jo frantically pointed out as they ran.

"Yeah, it's probably a good thing they haven't caught us." Shawn commented.

"Speak for yourself…" Beth panted as she began to fall behind. "I'm feeling a little out of breath…"

Beth began to slow down her speed. She was pounced on from behind by a velociraptor and pinned to the ground.

"Gah! Help!" Beth screamed. "Get me out of here!"

"No time to help her!" Jo ordered her team. "We'd just be risking out own lives! Keep running!"

"This seems wrong." Sky commented as she continued to run.

"Do you wanna die too?" Jo asked.

"I guess not…" Sky replied.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Beth)**

"It was kinda stupid for me to intentionally slow down." Beth admitted. "But it was an also a major jerk move for Jo let me fake-die."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jo)**

"It's not like I _wanted_ to leave me behind." Jo defended. "I just had no other choice."

* * *

The remaining Editors continued to flee.

"Have we lost them yet?" Sky asked, looking behind herself.

"Beth probably bought us some time." Jo replied. "Hard to say though. We should probably keep running."

Shawn took out his map and unfolded it. He attempted to read it as he ran.

"We're going the right way!" Shawn shouted to his team. "Uh… I think…"

"Whadda you me 'You think'? Gotta be clear, man." Lightning told him.

"It's hard to read a map in the rain and in the dark." Shawn pointed out.

"Where do we go next?" Jasmine asked.

"I'm pretty sure we take a right at the next fork." Shawn instructed his team.

"For your sake you'd better be right." Jo told him.

The team continued for a short bit coming to a divergence in the path and stopping. To the left continued the usual path and to the right was a chain link fence with a sign reading "Employees Only" with a dirt trail behind it.

"Uh, is this the fork you were talking about?" Sky asked.

"Yep." Shawn replied. "C'mon, let's see if it's unlocked."

"Don't this seem a bit sketchy?" Lightning pointed out.

"For once, old bleach hair has got a point." Jo agreed. "This seems like a bad idea."

"Sha-yeah! Lightning's right!" Lightning cheered. "Wait, bleach hair?"

"We 'aven't really gotten much of a choice." Jasmine pointed out. "C'mon, it's worth a shot."

Jasmine pushed on the fence gate and it opened.

"Well, that's convenient." Sky remarked.

"One of the employees musta left it open when they ran fled the park when the power went out." Jasmine speculated.

"Sure hope there's nothing too dangerous in there…" Shawn nervously commented.

"Let's get in there before those raptors find us again." Jo ordered her team.

The Editors complied and walked through the fence gate down the dirt path.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sky)**

"Usually, going down a dark dirt pathway in a dino infested park would be a stupid move. But we really needed that shortcut." Sky said. "The other team could've been way ahead of us and we wouldn't have even known it."

* * *

Meanwhile, the Writers continued down the river with their tour guide.

"This has really got me anxious." Zoey remarked. "Is there any better way through this?"

"Don't worry, I assure you, this boat is completely safe." Trudy insisted.

"What if there are any crazy dino critters in the water?" Sugar asked. "Is this tub built for that?"

"Well I'm sure someone in the design department must have thought of the possibility." Trudy told her. "Please remain calm."

"So in other words you don't know?" Scott asked.

"Uh, I, uh, I didn't say that." Trudy replied. "It's a fifty-fifty chance really."

"Y'know you ain't really reassuring." Leshawna told her.

"I'm trying, I really am." Trudy said. "Every remain calm and everything will be all right."

"Nope, I'm still not feeling better." Dave remarked.

"Maybe if we don't look into the water we'll all feel better." Owen suggested.

"Owen, I know you're tryin' to help. But you ain't helping either." Leshawna told him.

"Well… At least I tried." Owen remarked. "Heh."

"Now that you said that I wanna look at the water." Anne Maria commented.

"Don't do it, it'll make you all paranoid." Scott warned.

"Doin' it anyway. I'm all curious now." Anne Maria told him.

"Ooh, I wanna look to!" Sugar cheered.

Anne Maria and Sugar peered over the side of the boat into the water.

"I don't see nothin'." Sugar remarked. "This ain't so bad."

"Gah! What's that!?" Anne Maria exclaimed pointing into the water.

"Oh, you ain't foolin' me." Sugar told her.

"No, seriously, look." Anne Maria insisted. "Somethin' freaky is in there."

Sugar looked closer and saw a large black silhouette of some creature in the water.

"Ah!" Sugar screamed.

Both Sugar and Anne Maria stumbled over backwards on to the floor of the boat.

"What? What is it?" Owen nervously asked.

"Wait, no don't tell us. That'll just make us worry more." Zoey told them.

"We couldn't see what it was." Anne Maria replied. "But it sure looked big."

"Folks, please remain seated and calm, the tour shall continue as planned." Trudy told the team.

"You still aren't exactly coming off as reassuring." Dave told her. "No offence."

"I do my job as best I can." Trudy replied. "Now please remain-"

Trudy was cut off when something rammed into the side of the boat causing those inside to stumble.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sugar)**

"To be honest, with how annoying our virtual tour guide was, I kinda forgot about them dinos." Sugar remarked.

* * *

"That'd better not be that thing we saw." Anne Maria worried.

"Heh, how big was this "Thing" exactly?" Owen asked. "Like, big enough to eat me or smaller than that?"

"Looked pretty big." Sugar recalled. "Probably ain't safe to jump in the water."

Whatever was in the water rammed into the boat again from the other side.

"How sturdy is this boat of yours, Judy?" Scott asked.

"It's Trudy." Trudy corrected.

"Answer the damn question." Scott ordered. "This isn't the time for corrections."

"This boat has been made to withstand sever conditions." Trudy told the team. "Remain in the boat and everything should be fine."

"How do we know Chris isn't just using you to trick us?" Leshawna asked.

"Who?" Trudy asked.

"I don't think she knows she isn't real." Harold whispered to his team.

"What was that?" Trudy asked.

Before anyone could respond there was another ramming against the boat.

"Almost forgot about that." Scott remarked. "Someone should seriously check out what's causing that. Any volunteers?"

"How about you do it?" Dave suggested. "It's your idea."

"Uh, all right, I will." Scott reluctantly agreed to his own plan. "Wish me luck."

"It's just lookin' into some water. Don't be such a baby." Anne Maria told him.

"I'm on it, sheesh. Don't rush me." Scott replied.

Scott went over to the edge of the boat and peered over to the other side.

"Hmm… Nothing big yet." Scott observed.

Just as he said that, a pair of eyes and part of a snout rose from the water and the outline of the creature became more clear showing it had a long body with a long tail.

"What the heck!" Scott exclaimed as he stumbled back into the boat.

"What is it?" Harold asked.

"The good news is it's not a shark." Scott replied. "Bad news is it's probably a crocodile or alligator. And I'm not sticking around to find out which."

"Huh?" Owen confusedly murmured. "Crocs aren't dinosaurs. Why're they here? Are we in Florida or something?"

"Actually crocodiles have been around for millions of years." Harold told him.

"As fascinating as that is, one of them is trying to get into our boat." Dave reminded his team.

"Please remain calm and stay seated." Trudy instructed.

"Will you please shut it?" Scott told her.

"Pfft, I've tussled with crocs before. You just gotta show 'em who's boss." Sugar proclaimed. "'Course, if they're a gator that's a whole other story. Either way, lemme handle this."

Sugar moved over to the side of the boat and put her leg up, looking as if she was about to jump into the water.

"Whoa!" Zoey exclaimed, grabbing on to Sugar's arm. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Duh, I'm jumpin' in to show that crocogator a piece of my mind." Sugar replied.

"That's the worst idea I've heard all day." Leshawna remarked.

"Yes, I'll have to ask you to step down from there, ma'am." Trudy instructed Sugar as she approached the two girls near the edge of the boat.

"You can't tell me what to do. You ain't even a real person." Sugar old Trudy.

"I feel like I should be offended by that in some way…" Trudy remarked. "But the question is, in what way?"

"Listen to the lady." Scott told Sugar. "This is the dumbest thing I've seen you do."

"Hey, I hate to be the one to jinx it…" Dave began before trailing off.

"Lemme guess, 'Where'd the gator go'. That it?" Anne Maria guessed.

"I was gonna call it a crocodile, but yeah." Dave replied.

As if on cue, the creature beneath them rammed the side of the boat again. This time, due to the amount of people on one end of the boat, the shaking caused Zoey and Sugar to fall into the water.

"Don't panic! This boat has rescuing equipment!" Trudy proclaimed.

"Well get to it then!" Scott ordered. "You're the only one here who's trained… I assume… You are trained, right?"

"Of course I am." Trudy replied.

"Then quit standing around!" Scott shouted at her.

Trudy quickly pulled a crate out from under one of the seats. She opened the crate and took out a long metal rod and a life preserver inside.

"Here, grab this!" Trudy yelled into the water as she tossed the life preserver out to the two girls.

Sugar grabbed on to it.

"Get me outta here!" Sugar yelled.

"I'm trying ma'am." Trudy replied as she lowered the large metal pole towards Sugar.

"Hey! Don't forget about me!" Zoey exclaimed as she grabbed on to Sugar's shoulder.

"Leggo! There ain't enough room on this life saver for both of us." Sugar replied as she grabbed the pole.

"Please stay calm and focused." Trudy told them as she began attempting to pull both girls up. "Just one moment… Hold on… Wow you guys are heavy… Can I get a little help?"

Anne Maria, Leshawna, and Scott grabbed on to the rod Trudy was holding and began to pull together. Sugar and Zoey were slowly lifted from the water.

"Ha! We're doing it!" Zoey cheered. "I'm not gonna die after all!"

Just then, the head of the alligator peaked out from the water. The creature bit both Zoey's legs and began trying to drag her under.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Zoey screamed.

Zoey was dragged underwater by the alligator. Trudy and the other Writers were able to pull the remaining girl back on to the boat.

"Woo! Sweet salvation!" Sugar cheered.

"So… Is Zoey dead?" Dave asked.

"Heh, let's not dwell on it." Trudy told the team. "Let's just keep moving down this lovely picturesque river."

"This woman is insane…." Scott quietly whispered to the rest of his team.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Anne Maria)**

"Gonna be honest, Zoey's always been too much of a goodie-goodie for my likin'. But being eaten by a prehistoric river gator… That's just messed up." Anne Maria stated. "Chris, you've got some seriously problems in the head, man."

* * *

Meanwhile, the Editors were continuing down the dirt pathway.

"This place is getting creepier by the minute." Sky remarked. "I'm starting to regret going down this path."

"What're you talkin' about?" Lightning asked. "Lightning hasn't seen anything dangerous."

Just then, a tranquilizer dart zipped past Lightning, barely missing him.

"Sha-what!?" Lightning exclaimed. "Who's there? Lightning'll fight ya!"

"Oy! What're you bloody trespassers doin' out 'ere!" A male voice with an unidentifiable accent shouted. "Can'cha read? The sign out front says employees only."

A middle aged man with a suntan wearing a tan vest, match shorts, and a pith helmet carrying a large dart gun over his should leaped down from a nearby tree.

"Uh, haven't you noticed the dinosaurs tearing the park apart?" Jo asked in response.

"So that's why they're actin' like a bunch of hooligans." The man remarked. "I 'ad to pacify several of those little scamps not a minute or two ago."

"Who are you exactly?" Sky asked.

"Name's Lance Diamond." The man introduced himself. "Used to be one o' the best wildlife experts in Albany before I got the offer to work 'ere."

"Huh? You're from New York?" Lightning confusedly asked.

"Albany Australia you bloody tart." Lance replied, sounding annoyed.

"Really? You sound more cockney to me." Shawn remarked. "And even then only just barely."

"Oy! Don't tell me 'ow to accent!" Lance yelled. "I oughta kick ya right in the koalas for that one, mate."

"I am offended on so many levels right now." Jasmine said.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jasmine)**

"I feel like Chris just wanted to tick me off on every conceivable level." Jasmine speculated. "And lemme tell you, he succeeded big time."

* * *

"Tell ya what, youngsters, the five o' you can follow me." Lance told them. "Would wan'cha to be gobbled up by psycho raptor."

"Should we trust this guy?" Sky whispered to his team.

"Lightning don't know, he seems a little crazy." Lightning replied.

"Oy! I can hear ya y'know." Lance told him.

"Let's follow him." Jo decided. "He looks strong and he's got a gun."

"Uh, do you know what happened to the Australian hunter guy in the actual Jurassic Park?" Shawn asked.

"I'm assuming he got eaten." Jo remarked.

"Hey! What're you goin' on about now?" Lance asked. "Do ya want me help or not."

"Of course we do." Jo told him. "Lead the way and don't shoot us again."

"We're seriously going with this loon?" Jasmine asked. "He isn't even Australian."

"Whadda you know you bugged eyed bush baby?" Lance replied.

"See! Bush babies are from Africa, not Australia." Jasmine said.

"Just follow him." Jo told her. "He probably knows what he's doing."

"'Course I do, I've got the fierceness of a dingo, the eyes of a well trained falcon, and the smarts of an elephant." Lance proclaimed. "Now follow me, kids."

Lance runs down the path and the Editors quickly follow him.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sky)**

"Of all the things that I thought would happen in Jurassic Park challenge, meeting that guy was not one of them." Sky remarked.

* * *

The Editors continued following Lance down their path.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Sky asked Lance.

"'Course I do, Sheila. Been in this game for longer than you've been alive and kickin'." Lance replied.

"Some how I doubt that." Jasmine remarked. "'Specially on account of the fact that you aren't even a real person."

"'Scuse me, what're you talking about?" Lance asked. "You sound a few ants short of a colony to me."

"Never mind." Jasmine said.

"Yo, Diamond dude, do you know where we're going?" Lightning asked.

"'Course I do." Lance replied. "I've worked on this park for a long while now."

"Is a dart gun really the best defence against these things?" Shawn asked.

"Yeah, wouldn't, I dunno, a _real_ gun work better?" Jasmine added.

"You kiddin'? These creatures are worth a fortune." Lance replied. "We can't afford to lose any of 'em."

"Dude, one of our friends got her face munched on by some raptors." Lightning said. "Lightning thinks they're better off not runnin' around."

"That's natural selection for ya. Strongest live, weakest die." Lance stated.

"I think we're following around a crazy person…" Sky whispered to the rest of her team.

"What'd ya say, lass?" Lance asked.

"Nothing." Sky quickly replied.

"All right then. Let's push ahead." Lance said. "Never know when one of these bloody dinos might strike."

Out of the darkness, a velociraptor leaped into the path of the team.

"Gah!" Lightning screamed in surprise.

"Eat dart gun ya bloody lizard!" Lance yelled as he fired off his dart gun.

The raptor dodged the dart and began running at the team.

"Ya think you can outsmart me?" Lance remarked as he continued firing the gun. "Ha! Not a chance!"

This time, two darts hit the raptor causing it to pause before falling over unconscious.

"Hmmph, all in a day's work." Lance proudly said.

Lance quickly turns to the Editors only to see another velociraptor behind the team.

"Dammit! Another one of you blighters?" Lance remarked.

"Run!" Shawn screamed.

The Editors ran down the dirt path away from the velociraptor and Lance.

"Oy! Don't leave me 'ere!" Lance exclaimed as he began running after the Editors. "I can't take 'em on all by myself y'know!"

"You've been doing fine so far!" Jo pointed out as they ran.

"Yeah, but it's always good to 'ave back up." Lance reasoned.

"By backup do you mean 'aving the raptors eat us?" Jasmine asked.

"Uh, possibly." Lance replied.

"You've gotta do something about them!" Shawn yelled. "It's impossible to outrun them forever."

"All right, lemme take another crack at it." Lance replied.

Lance turned around and fired a few darts from his gun. All of them hit the raptor causing it to fall over.

"And once again my expert training pays off." Lance proclaimed. "Now, my little wallaby's, let's find outselves a way outta this death trap."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jo)**

"Wow, the ego on that guy made _Lightning_ almost look humble." Jo remarked.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Writers were going down the river on their boat in complete silence.

"It's cold and I'm scared…" Dave mumbled. "How long 'til this ride is over?"

"Don't worry, our river tour shall be over shortly." Trudy informed him.

"How can you be so calm?" Scott asked. "One of our passengers just became prehistoric gator chow."

"I assure you everything is under control." Trudy said.

"What does that have to do with what I said?" Scott asked.

"Startin' to think she's a robot." Leshawna remarked.

"What was that?" Trudy asked.

"Nothing." Leshawna replied.

"Seriously lady, Zoey just got eaten or just drowned. Maybe both." Scott pointed out to Trudy. "How is none of this affecting you?"

"I mean, she's not really dead." Dave reminded Scott.

"Still, that's pretty messed up." Scott argued.

"Ya don't think that'll happen to any more of us, right?" Sugar asked.

"Do ya want the truth or the reassuring lie?" Anne Maria replied.

"Uh, the truth." Sugar said.

"In that case: At least one more of us is gonna die." Anne Maria stated.

"Huh… Prob'ly shoulda gone with the lie." Sugar remarked.

"I'd have preferred to say the lie too actually." Anne Maria said.

"You think there's anything else in the water?" Sugar asked.

"There's always the possibility." Harold replied.

"Anyone wanna look?" Dave asked.

There was a long silence between the team.

"Think that's a no." Owen remarked.

"I can't just go on knowing that something might be down there." Dave said.

"If it's out of sight, it's out of mind." Trudy told him. "Now, let us resume the tour."

"Actually they would still be there." Harold stated. "And if we let our guard down it just makes it easier for them to get the jump on us."

"Really not helping either, Harold." Dave said.

"If you wanna see what's in there so badly why don't you check?" Sugar asked.

"Well maybe I will." Dave replied as he stood up.

"Yep, that's a safe move." Scott sarcastically said.

"Shut up, I know what I'm doing." Dave told him.

"Sure you do." Scott quietly grumbled.

Dave went up to the edge of the boat and looked over.

"Huh… I don't see anything." Dave observed. "That's sure a relief. For a minute I was worried that-"

He was abruptly cut off by something ramming the underside of the boat.

"Oh come on!" Dave screamed, barely able to hold on. "What did that?!"

"Trudy, isn't this usually the part where you tell use to not panic?" Anne Maria asked.

"Gosh, that felt a lot bigger than before." Harold remarked.

"How can you feel something like that?" Leshawna asked.

"Well, it's more of an estimate." Harold admitted.

Something rammed into the right side of the boat again and a moment later, something else rammed into the left.

"Oh, great, there are two of them." Leshawna sarcastically said. "That's just what I needed."

The ramming against the boat continued.

"Would it be too early to yell abandon ship?" Dave asked.

"Abandon ship!" Trudy shouted.

"Guess not." Sugar said.

Trudy ran over to the side of the boat and jumped over.

"Well, she's a goner." Anne Maria remarked. "On the bright side, we don't gotta listen to her yapping now."

The creatures near the boat continued to ram it until a small explosion went off out of view.

"That'd have better not be the boat that made that noise…" Scott nervously hoped.

The boat the team was in slowly began tipping to the right.

"Yep… We're sininking." Dave realized.

"Abandon ship!" Sugar yelled. "Hey, that's pretty fun to say actually."

"What're we 'sposed to do now?" Leshawna asked.

"What part of abandon ship didn't you get?" Sugar asked. "We _abandon_ the _ship_. Well, guess it's more of a boat. Either way, I'm gettin' outta here."

Sugar ran over to the side of the boat that wasn't tipping towards the water and jumped in.

"My two biggest fears are being eaten alive and drowning. And now both of them are going to happen." Dave said. "Great."

"Hate to say it but maybe we should follow Sugar's lead." Scott suggested. "It's either we die on the boat or we possibly die in the water."

"How do we know ya ain't tryin' to make us lose?" Anne Maria asked.

"Oh come on, I've moved past that." Scott insisted. "We have a better chance at survival if we go into the water. You guys can do what you want but I'm getting in there."

Scott jumped from the boat into the river.

"You know, for whatever reason, I believe you." Dave remarked. "Wait for me!"

Dave leaped into the water below.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Dave)**

"In hindsight, following the advice of _Sugar and Scott_ was a very, very, bad idea." Dave admitted.

* * *

"Might as well risk it." Anne Maria decided. "Wait for me!"

Anne Maria ran up to the side of the boat and jumped in.

"Maybe I can swim to safety." Owen pondered. "Yeah, it can't be that hard."

Owen leaped into the water.

"Well Leshawna, it's just you and me now." Harold remarked.

"Yeah…. I think I'll risk the jump." Leshawna told him. "We've probably got better chances by doing that. Waiting here, we're just sitting ducks."

"Gosh, that is a horrible idea." Harold said.

"Both ideas are horrible." Leshawna stated. "I'm goin' for the slightly less horrible one though. See ya later."

Leshawna jumped into the river below.

"Well... I might as well follow." Harold decided before going up to the edge of the sinking boat. "Heer I go!"

Harold leaped into the river.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Harold)**

"All things considered, we could've ended up worse." Harold remarked.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Editors, and Lance, were wandering down the same winding dirt path as before.

"Are you sure you know where we're going?" Shawn asked Lance. "I can't help but get the feeling that we're lost."

"I know this here park like the back of me hand. Don'cha worry about a thing." Lance told him.

"And you can lead us to the helicopter in the middle of the park, right?" Sky asked.

"Follow up question, do ya know how to fly a helicopter?" Lightning added.

"Yes and no in that order." Lance replied. "Don't worry, I'm sure it'll be easy to pick up on the fly."

"That is not helping us feel more confident." Jasmine commented.

"Listen Sheila, who's the professional dino wrangler here?" Lance asked. "That's right, me."

"So far all you've done is shoot that dart gun of yours. Doesn't seem too professional to me." Jo said.

"Hey, how long should those things be out for anyway?" Shawn asked.

"Don't know, never stayed 'round long enough to find out for myself." Lance replied. "And I reckon I don't want to either."

"So wait, you're saying you 'ave no idea how long they'll be unconscious?" Jasmine asked. "That does not sound very professional to me."

"Look missy, I know what I'm doin' 'ere." Lance insisted.

"How many more darts are in that thing anyway?" Lightning asked.

"Enough." Lance told him.

"Hey, that ain't an answer." Lightning pointed out.

"Will you shut up?" Lance asked. "I'm tryin' to focus on getting' out of this bloody mess right now. Whoever is in charge of keepin' the power on 'ere should be fired."

"They're probably dead." Jo pointed out.

"Oh… Well, at least we ain't dead." Lance said. "Yet."

"Don't add the yet. It makes everyone nervous." Sky told him.

"I'm the adult 'ere and I'm in charge." Lance proclaimed. "Now let's keep this show movin' along."

Just then a velociraptor jumped in front of Lance and the Editors.

"Gah!" Shawn screamed. "That wouldn't happen to be the same one from before, right."

"Doesn't matter, it's gettin' darted." Lance proclaimed. "Ygraha!"

Lance shot another dart from his gun hitting the raptor in the neck and knocking it out.

"Seriously, what was with that noise you just made?" Jo asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Lance replied.

"Uh, guys, bigger problems." Shawn told the rest of his team.

Shawn pointed over to a small group of raptors approaching from behind.

"Blimey! That first one musta been a decoy!" Lance exclaimed. "I'll take care o' these ones too."

Lance attempted to shoot his gun but nothing happened.

"What?! I'm out of ammo!" Lance shouted. "All right kids, 'ere's the plan, I got two words: Heroic sacrifice!"

"Huh?" Sky asked.

"It's the only way out." Lance insisted. "Remember me as I lived."

"A confusing stereotype?" Jasmine asked.

"Someone with an indecipherable accent?" Lightning went on.

"No: A hero." Lance declared. "Now start running, kids. Sacrifice time!"

Lance ran at the velociraptors and the Editors fled the scene.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jasmine)**

"Is it cruel to say that I didn't really miss him?" Jasmine asked. "It wasn't just the accent, or the fact that he wasn't even real. Well, okay it was those things. But he was also pretty obnoxious. What kinda name is Lance Diamond anyway?"

* * *

Meanwhile, somewhere along the river the Writers were travelling on earlier, several members of the team had washed up. Scott, Sugar, Dave, and Leshawna lay on the shore.

"Ugh… Are we still alive?" Dave muttered as he stood up.

"Yeah, but now we're lost, boatless, and we probably lost the map too." Leshawna told him.

"Think anyone else survived?" Dave asked.

"I reckon not." Sugar said. "That river wasn't as nice as I thought it was gonna be."

"At least that means Trudy's probably dead." Scott remarked.

"Dude, that's not an okay thing to say." Dave told him.

"Eh, she was pretty annoying." Sugar agreed with Scott. "Plus she's just a virtual lady. She ain't really dead."

"Hmm, I guess you got a point." Dave reluctantly admitted.

"C'mon, let's stop talkin' and start finding a way outta here." Leshawna told what was left of her team.

"We should probably just follow the river." Scott suggested. "It's bound to lead us to the ocean and from there we can find a boat."

"In that case we'd start following it." Dave replied. "C'mon, let's make like A Flock of Seagulls and run."

"Huh? Seagulls don't run, they fly." Sugar pointed out.

"No I meant- Ah, nevermind. Let's just go." Dave said.

The four remaining Writers began running down the shore of the river.

"So is this really the best we've got?" Leshawna asked as they ran.

"It's better than blindly wandering into the forest." Scott replied.

"I guess you kinda gotta point." Leshawna admitted.

"I know I do." Scott said.

"You also don't gotta be smug about it." Leshawna told him.

"We might wanna watch out step though." Dave interjected. "If we aren't careful something bad might happen."

"Gimme an example." Sugar told him.

"Well we could trip and fall and just get covered in all sorts of germs, or we could runs straight into some sort of bloodthirsty dinosaur, or we could miss a sharp turn and fall into the river." Dave listed.

"Shouldn't have asked. Now I'm all nervous." Sugar said.

"That's a good thing." Dave told her. "The more on edge you are, the harder it is for things to get the jump on you."

"That don't sound right to me." Sugar remarked.

"Just keep running guys." Leshawna told them both.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Leshawna)**

"Not to be judgmental, but I probably couldn't have been stuck with a worse batch of teammates right then." Leshawna stated. "Scott's known to be a schemer, Sugar's a bit of an oddball, and not in the good way, and Dave… He's a nice guy, but he's not too useful."

* * *

After several more minutes of running, Dave came to a sudden halt causing her other teammates to stop as well.

"What's the matter?" Leshawna asked.

"Out of breath…" Dave panted.

"Seriously? Even Lard Lass hasn't been complaining." Scott told him, gesturing to Sugar.

"The trick is to pace yerself and-" Sugar suddenly began before realizing what Scott had said. "Wait, did ya just call me Lard Lass?"

"Heh, musta misheard." Scott lied.

"Stomach cramp…" Dave continued to pant.

"Hurry it up." Scott told him.

"Yeah, I don't wanna wait around here too long." Leshawna said. "Never know what might happen."

"You mean like a pair of creepy lookin' eyes starin' at us from a bush?" Sugar asked.

"Oh, god, you see those, don't you?" Dave replied.

Sugar nodded and pointed to a bush a few yards away with several pairs of eyes peering out of it.

"Oh hey, there was only before." Sugar remarked. "We should probably run."

"But my legs still hurt." Dave complained.

Scott grabbed Dave by the wrist and started running, dragging Dave with him.

"Hey! Don't leave us!" Leshawna exclaimed as she and Sugar began running.

Elsewhere in the park, the Editors dirt path had come to an end with a gate on a chair link fence that had been opened.

"Is this it?" Jo asked. "We're supposed to be here?"

"Yep, according to the map, there should be helicopter on top of a building near here." Shawn replied.

"Hey, why do you 'spose that the gate here's already open?" Lightning asked.

"Let's just say Lance did it and not dwell on it." Jo said. "Now come on, time's wasting."

The team walked through the gate and onto a sidewalk.

"So what's this building we're looking for supposed to be exactly?" Jasmine asked.

"This map marks it as a 'Gift Shop and Research Lab'… Never thought I'd hear both of those things together." Shawn commented.

"Is that it?" Sky asked, pointing to a nearby large stone building with a torn up "Welcome" banner above the front door.

"Most likely." Shawn replied.

"Let's move everyone." Jasmine told the team. "But be careful, this place is probably swarming with dinosaurs."

"Hey, I wanted to be the one to say that." Jo said.

"It's too late, now come on." Jasmine replied. "We need to hurry."

The Editors entered the building. The first room they were in had a high ceiling and featured a collapsed T-rex skeleton in the center near an abandoned information desk.

"Where do we go from here?" Sky asked.

"Lightning guesses the answer is 'Up'." Lightning said. "He also really hopes there's a working elevator in this place."

"Dude, the power's out." Shawn reminded him.

"Oh, right." Lighting remembered. "Sha-dang it."

"How many flights of stairs do we need to climb to reach the top?" Sky asked.

"Let's find out." Jo replied.

Jo made a run towards a door marked "Stairwell".

"Aw man, we have to follow her, don't we?" Shawn asked.

"A little exercise can't hurt." Sky told him.

"Plus it'll be good for you." Jasmine added.

"And dinos can't climb stairs!" Lightning cheered. "Uh… Lightning thinks so anyway."

Moments later, the Editors were rushing up the winding staircase of the building as quickly as they could.

"Y'know, Lightning's kinda wondering what they have in the gift shop." Lightning remarked as he climbed.

"Probably just mutilated tourists." Jo replied. "Now c'mon, don't get distracted."

"Did you really have to put that image in my head?" Shawn asked.

"Don't worry, Shawn. So far we've only met one other person here." Jasmine pointed out. "It'll be arright."

"Tell that to the dinosaurs." Shawn said.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Shawn)**

"Ever since me and Jasmine started dating I've really unwound quite a bit." Shawn told the audience. "That said, I can be a bit… Manic, when things get too stressful. And the threat of being eaten by some prehistoric predator certainly seems stressful to me."

* * *

After ascending a few more flights of stairs, all the team members had slowed their speed.

"Okay… I'll admit it…" Jo panted. "We shouldn't have run up these stairs so fast… We needed more pacing…"

"Let's slow down to recover…" Sky tiredly advised her.

The team began moving even slower than they already were.

"Hey, there's no way for a dinosaur to ambush us while doing this, right?" Sky asked.

"Lightning told ya already, they can't climb stairs." Lightning stated. "They don't even know what stairs are."

"Somehow, your logic doesn't seem very sound." Jasmine told him.

"Psht, whadda you know, tall girl?" Lightning asked. "Jo, bro, back me up on this, man."

"Yeah, no, your reasoning is very confusing." Jo said.

"You're just jealous 'cause I thought of it before you." Lightning remarked.

"Trust me, I am not jealous of you in any way." Jo replied.

"How many more floors are there in this building?" Shawn asked. "I'm worried that my legs will collapse before we reach there."

"Like, one more, now stop complaining." Jo told him.

"I guess that's fair enough." Shawn remarked. "Kinda… Not really."

After a few minutes of silence, the team made it to the top of the staircase where there was a door.

"Here it is." Jasmine stated. "C'mon team, were close now."

Jasmine opened up the door to reveal a helicopter sitting out in the rain on top of the building.

"Let's get out of this dump." Jo said.

The Editors stepped out onto the rainy roof.

"I hate to jinx it, but at this point, I feel confident in saying we're in the clear." Sky said.

Suddenly, a pteranodon swooped down from above at the team narrowly missing them.

"Dammit!" Lightning exclaimed.

"Quick! Get to the chopper before that thing comes back!" Jo ordered.

Before they could move, the pteranodon came back around and grabbed Jo with their talons.

"Crap!" Jo exclaimed.

The pteranodon flew off into the distance, carrying Jo.

"New plan! Go back inside and brainstorm." Sky said.

The Editors quickly rushed back over to the stairwell.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jo)**

"You know, I don't blame my team for leaving me for dead." Jo admitted. "It's exactly what I would've done."

* * *

Meanwhile, the Writers were continuing to follow the river.

"Did we lose whatever was in those bushes yet?" Leshawna asked as he ran.

"Think so." Scott replied.

"Does that mean we can slow down…" Dave tiredly asked. "Please?"

"Yeah, I'm feelin' a bit woozy too…" Sugar added.

"I see no harm in it." Scott said.

The remnants of the Writers slowed down their pacing.

"Y'know, for everything that's gone really, really, _really_ wrong in this challenge… I think we might actually win." Dave speculated.

"Huh, I think yer right." Sugar agreed.

"Let's not get too ahead of yourself on the congrats." Leshawna told them. "We still haven't seen the boat yet."

"Uh, I see something that's a good sign." Scott remarked as he pointed ahead.

Leshawna looked over in the direction Scott pointed and saw that the river came to an end and began feeding into the ocean.

"Ooh, I love me some beach time." Sugar said. "If only I had me a virtual swimsuit to change into."

"Trust me Sugar, you don't want to play in wet sand." Dave told her. "In fact, I don't even swim when I go to the beach. That's how much I hate wet sand."

"You're a strange man sometimes." Scott remarked.

"Well, that boat's gotta be around here somewhere." Leshawna remarked.

"I guess we look around 'til we find it." Sugar said.

Just then, a loud roar is heard coming from nearby.

"Oh god…" Dave trailed off. "Why me?"

A tyrannosaurus came out of the nearby forest and onto the beach.

"Do ya think that's related to the one chasin' us before?" Sugar pondered.

"No time to ask! Just run!" Scott exclaimed.

The team began running down the beach.

Meanwhile, the Writers were hiding out inside the stairwell near the roof of the building we're in.

"Okay, do we have an actual plan yet?" Shawn asked. "Because I'm seriously drawing blanks right now."

"Lightning was in the same flight challenge Jo was." Lightning stated. "He can pilot just as well."

"Okay… But 'ow do we get to the copter?" Jasmine asked.

"Hmm… Hear Lightning out. We run… Really fast." Lightning replied.

"That's it?" Sky asked.

"Pfft, like you guys got better ideas." Lightning said. "That overgrown bird probably went away already."

"Oddly enough, you make a point." Shawn admitted.

"We can't wait it out forever I suppose." Jasmine said.

"So y'all with Lightning?" Lightning asked.

"All right, let's try it." Sky said. "I can't believe I'm about to do this."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Lightning)**

"Lightning knew he was gonna get eliminated if his plan didn't work." Lightning told the audience. "But Lightning also knew his plan would work."

* * *

"All right, on three." Lightning told his teammates. "One… Two… Three!"

The team quickly ran out of the stairwell door and on to the rooftop. They got into the helicopter together with Lightning moving to the pilot's seat.

Hmm… So how does Lightning fly this thing?" Lightning wondered.

"I thought you said you knew." Sky pointed out.

"Well, the thing he flew wasn't technically a helicopter." Lightning admitted. "But Lightning's sure Chris made flying this extra easy."

Lightning nervously looked down at the controls.

"I'll just close my eyes." Shawn decided. "That'll make things better."

The scene switched back to the four Writers running along the beach.

"Where's that stupid boat we're supposed to be looking for?" Scott asked as he ran.

"Right now, I think we need to focus on not getting eaten alive." Dave pointed out.

"We need to give 'em a human sacrifice!" Sugar declared.

"Uh… What?" Leshawna asked. "Yeah, that ain't happenin'."

"It's the only way!" Sugar exclaimed.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sugar)**

"Sometimes, I say some crazy stuff when under extreme pressure." Sugar told the camera. "But I'm just sayin' a human sacrifice probably woulda worked."

* * *

The team kept running.

"Seriously! Human sacrifice would totally work!" Sugar yelled.

Scott looked up at the sky and saw a helicopter flying over him.

"Hey! Maybe we can try and get their attention." Scott suggested.

"It's worth a shot." Dave remarked.

The scene changed to inside the helicopter to reveal that the Editors were the ones inside.

"See, told ya I knew what I was doin'." Lightning bragged.

"Just try and focus on not crashing us in a fiery wreck." Jasmine told him.

Shawn looked down and saw the Writers on the beach waving up at them with a T-rex nearing the desperate team.

"Hey, I think that's the other team." Shawn remarked. "And I think they want our help? What do you think? Should we go down there?"

"No way, we're too close to winning." Sky told him. "Once we get far away enough from the island we should win."

"I dunno, I feel pretty bad about this." Shawn said. "Maybe we should help."

"Lightning don't work that way." Lighting stated. "We should end this challenge before they get eaten… Probably."

The scene changed to back on the ground.

"I don't think they saw us." Scott remarked.

Dave looked behind him and saw the tyrannosaurus getting closer.

"Guys…. Run!" Dave screamed before scampering off along the beach.

"Human sacrifice!" Sugar yelled before pushing Leshawna over.

Sugar ran off in the direction of Dave.

"Ugh… There is something wrong with that girl…" Leshawna muttered.

"Here let me help." Scott said as he extended his hand to her.

"You're really helping?" Leshawna asked as she grabbed Scott's hand.

"Of course I am, I keep telling everyone I'm not trying to throw these challenges anymore." Scott said as he pulled Leshawna up. "Now c'mon, let's catch up with the others."

Before they could do anything, the t-rex made it over to both of them.

"Oh crap…" Scott muttered.

The two of them began running in the direction of the rest of their team.

Meanwhile, the Editors were flying over the sea in their helicopter.

"How much longer 'til the challenge is over?" Sky asked.

Shawn looked out the window and saw the other team being terrorized by the t-rex.

"I still feel kinda bad for not helping them." Shawn admitted.

"Outta sight outta mind, bro." Lightning told him.

Just then, all the contestants in the helicopter began to glow light blue.

"Oh hey! I think that means we won!" Lightning cheered.

The light consumed the contestants and when it faded they were all gone.

The scene changed back to the real world with all the remaining contestants getting out of the machine.

"Ugh… Why can't Chris ever send us somewhere nice." Dave groaned as he got up from the chair.

"Congratulations on winning the challenge, Angry Editors." Chris told the team. "Your loss streak has been broken."

"Thank god for that." Jo remarked.

"So my human sacrifice didn't work?" Sugar asked.

"No, not in the slightest." Scott told her.

"Do I even want to know what you're talking about?" Zoey asked.

"Trust me, you don't." Dave said.

"So, Editors, you win the privilege of not having one of your members being eliminated." Chris told them. "But as for the other team… Have fun deciding. Anywho, Chef has prepared a meal for both teams. So enjoy that. As for me, I need to do my hair."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Harold)**

"Overall, the challenge wasn't too realistic." Harold remarked. "I mean, I get it was just virtual, but I feel like Chris needed to do more research. Granted, if it was realistic, I probably would've died a lot sooner than I did. More gruesomely too."

* * *

Later, both teams were in the mess hall eating plates of some sort of beige coloured paste. The camera focused on the Editors.

"Cheers to us winning." Jo said.

"Sha-yeah! I totally helped us out." Lightning cheered.

"Uh, yeah, hooray I guess." Beth half-heartedly added.

"You okay?" Jasmine asked her.

"I'm just a little miffed that I sat out like, half the challenge." Beth explained.

"If it makes ya feel any better, Lightning totally regrets not trying to save you." Lightning told her.

"Oh… Thanks I guess." Beth replied.

"At least we won though, right?" Shawn said.

"Let's 'ope it can stay that way." Jasmine remarked.

"Agreed." Sky said. "Maybe I'll get lucky and they'll eliminate Dave. He hasn't done anything too bad yet, but something tells me it'll get awkward if we both make it to the merge."

"I'm just gonna stay away from your whole relationship." Beth told her. "No offence."

"Wonder what the other team is talking about right now." Jasmine remarked.

Over at the other table, the Writers were attempting to enjoy their meal.

"This stuff tastes like mashed potatoes except… Blander." Anne Maria stated as she chewed her food.

"Not even _I_ like this stuff." Owen admitted. "If I'm gonna eat something I want it to have a flavour."

"Hey, Leshawna, you ain't mad about the whole 'Human Sacrifice' incident are ya?" Sugar asked. "I just do some crazy things when I'm bein' chased by dinosaurs."

"Stop bringin' it up." Leshawna told her. "It just makes things weirder."

"Okay, seriously, what the heck happened after I got eaten by that gator?" Zoey asked. "I am so confused."

"I'm in the same boat too. And I'm equally curious." Harold said.

"I'll explain when I'm in a better mood." Leshawna told her team.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Anne Maria)**

"Yeesh, how'd my team get so dysfunctional during one challenge?" Anne Maria wondered. "We were doin' fine just before. Seriously, what the hell?"

* * *

The scene faded ahead to later with the Editors sat in the audience around a stage that Chris was on.

"So, this has been your first time visiting this palce since Max was eliminated." Chris told the team. "How's that feel."

"Uh, not very good." Owen replied.

"Great, that's exactly how it's supposed to be." Chris told them. "Now, get to the voting. And be sure to have fun. Otherewise, the audience won't have fun."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Anne Maria)**

Anne Maria held up a crossed out photo of Zoey.

"Look, I don't got nothing against ya anymore. I keep sayin' this. But you just ain't too valuable to me." Anne Maria explained. "'Least Sugar kinda reminds me of myself. So she's got that goin' for her."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Zoey)**

Zoey drew over a photo of Scott and showed it to the camera.

"Look, I still have some trust issues regarding you. It's something about your eyes." Zoey said. "Besides, I kinda like the other people on my team better than you. Even Anne Maria's leaving me alone mostly."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Scott)**

Scott crossed out a picture of Sugar and showed it to the camera.

"I've nothing personal against you Sugar, but you're kinda weighing our whole team down." Scott stated. "I didn't even know you that well. I'm not gonna miss you. Uh, no offence."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Leshawna)**

Leshawna drew an X over a photograph of Dave.

"Look, I don't hate you or anything." Leshawna said. "It's just that ya seem way too antsy all the time. At least Sugar tries to contribute… Even if that contribution was jumping off a boat and then later tryin' to feed me to a dino… Huh, is it too late to switch votes? Nah, I'm stickin' to this one."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Harold)**

Harold put a picture of Scott with an X over it to the camera.

"Scott has a reputation of being a villain and I'm unsure of whether or not he's changed. So this vote is to play it safe." Harold explained his reasoning. "No hard feelings, right? Who am I kidding… You're probably gonna be real mad at me for this."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Owen)**

Owen drew a frowning face over a photo of Sugar.

"Heh, sorry about this." Owen apologized. "But your whole jumping into the water idea, kinda got me eaten. Maybe we can be friends after the show's over though. Pretty please?"

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Sugar)**

Sugar held up a photograph of Dave with an X over it.

"I ain't too sure who to vote for." Sugar admitted. "But this Dave feller don't seem to be that good in challenges. Thought he woulda improved since his first time around, but he still kinda just worries and screams a lot. What's with that?"

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Dave)**

"I'm a little torn right now." Dave told the camera. "It's either Sugar or Scott. They're the two most annoying people on my team. But they've both got their positives too. Scott seems at least a little smart and Sugar clearly knows something about how to win challenges if she made it as far as she did the first time around. It'd be nice to have one of them on my good side. But they both are still sorta annoying… Give me more time to think."

* * *

The scene faded ahead to later with Chris back up on the stage.

"So, I've tallied the votes!" Chris announced. "Leshawna, Harold, Anne Maria, Owen, nobody has voted for the four of you."

Chef threw four Gilded Chris Awards to them.

"Dave, Zoey, Scott, Sugar. I'm going to hand out two more awards to two of you." Chris explained. "And they go to…"

…

…

…

…

…

…

"…. Dave and Zoey!"

Chef tossed two more awards to Dave and Zoey.

"Phew, that's a load of my chest." Dave sighed in relief as he caught his.

"Yes!" Zoey cheered. "I was getting worried for a second."

"Scott, Sugar, it was a close call." Chris told them. "But one of you was eliminated by a single vote. The final Gilded Chris Award goes to…"

…

…

…

…

…

…

"…. Scott!"

Chef threw the last award to Scott.

"I don't know if I should be relieved that I'm still in the game, or if I should be upset that I was so close to being booted." Scott remarked.

"Uh, if it makes you feel any better I didn't vote for you." Dave told him.

"Wait, this means I'm outta here?" Sugar asked. "Aw, I was havin' fun though. 'Specially since that fruity princess gal wasn't here this time."

"Too bad, Sugar. But if it makes you feel better, you're escorted out of here in a cheap limo." Chris told her.

"Ooh, I've always wanted to ride one of those." Sugar remarked.

Sugar excitedly got down from the bleachers and walked across the red carpet over to the limousine. She opened the door.

"Hey, don't go yet!" A female voice called from out of view before Sugar opened the door completely. "I wanted to say somethin'."

Sugar turned around and saw Anne Maria walking over to her.

"Huh? Whadda you want?" Sugar asked.

"Listen, we didn't talk much, right." Anne Maria said.

"Not really." Sugar replied.

"I was just thinkin' we could probably be friends after this season's over, y'know." Anne Maria stated. "We got some stuff in common. I just wanted you to know. We're even wearin' the same type of shirt."

"My mama always told me not to trust anyone with hair bigger than their head." Sugar responded. "You seem all right though. Wish ya talked to me before I got the boot though."

"I wasn't expectin' it, okay." Anne Maria replied. "See ya later."

Sugar got into the limo and shortly after it drove away.

"Huh… Wonder who do I have the most in common with now?" Anne Maria wondered.

Chris walked up behind Anne Maria.

"Hi there!" Chris loudly announced his presence, causing the girl to jump.

"Gah! Don't do that!" Anne Maria snapped.

"Haha, what fun." Chris laughed before turning to the camera. "Without Sugar, how will our team fare? Personally, I say they'd do better. But that's just me talking. You'll have to find out on your own. So tune in next time to see these two clashing teams on, Total. Drama. Winners!"

* * *

 **Votes:**

Anne Maria - Zoey

Dave - Sugar

Harold - Scott

Leshawna - Dave

Owen - Sugar

Scott - Sugar

Sugar - Dave

Zoey - Scott

 **Results:**

Sugar - 3 Votes

Scott - 2 Votes

Dave - 2 Votes

Zoey - 1 Vote

 **Eliminated:**

Mike, the Nice Guy (18th Place)

Max, the Super Villain (17th Place)

Lindsay, the Dumb Princess (16th Place)

Geoff, the Funnest Guy Around (15th Place)

Sugar, the Pageant Queen (14th Place)

* * *

 **If you haven't seen Jurassic Park, I recommend it. It's a great adventure movie/thriller. Jurassic World was okay and I haven't seen any of the other sequels, but I've heard they're pretty bad. Anyway, as for the actual story, I hope you found it entertaining. The main reason I eliminated Sugar, is that I had plans for everyone else. Early on, I planned on having Sugar and Anne Maria in an alliance (Which I tried to show in their last minute interaction here) but I opted to reject that plot in flavor of some different ones. Anyway, that's all I've gotta say. Please let me know what your thoughts on the chapter are. Thanks for reading.**


	8. Chocolate Pain

**This took considerably less time to write than the last one to be published. I don't know if that's a good thing or not, I'll let you be the judge of that. Anyway, I hope future chapters I'm able to add with this relative pace. Also, yes, I realize that the title to this chapter is a reference to a viral video from like, 2007. It was the best title I could come up with. As usual, I have more to add at the ending note. So wait for that I guess. Enjoy your chapter.**

* * *

"Last time, on Total Drama Winners. We sent our contestants to my version of Jurassic Park where they were mostly chased around by dinosaurs." A clip of the Writers' jeep evading a T-Rex played. "After the help of some very unhelpful helpers, the Writers ended up sunk and the Editors found a helicopter." The footage changed to several of the Writers leaping out of their boat and then it showed a clip of Lightning flying his team's helicopter. "In the end, the copter team won and the Writers decided they were fed up with Sugar." A clip of Anne Maria wishing Sugar goodbye before she entered the limo played next.

The footage switched over to Chris standing by the gates to the abandoned movie studio.

"Good thing too, I've heard too much sugar is bad for you." Chris remarked, laughing at his own joke. "Mildly entertaining word play aside, we have a show to film. Will the Editors lose streak make a comeback, or can they snatch another win? Find out right now, on Total. Drama. Winners!"

* * *

 **(Theme Song)**

* * *

The camera faded in on a morning at the film lot. The scene changed to inside the girls' trailer where Zoey was happily sleeping. The redhead muttered something in her sleep.

"Hey, girly! Get'cha self up!" A familiar voice demanded from out of view.

Zoey stirred from her sleep and looked up and saw Anne Maria standing over her.

"Huh? Why're you waking me up?" Zoey asked. "I thought you liked sleeping in."

"It's almost ten." Anne Maria pointed out to her, gesturing to a clock on a wall.

"What? Shouldn't Chris have called us to the challenge or something by now?" Zoey questioned. "Or at least told us breakfast is ready?"

"I was a little confused too." Anne Maria admitted. "But who cares, we've got ourselves some time to kill. C'mon, let's go."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Zoey)**

"Chris letting us sleep in meant two things: Either he had something especially bad planned, or he forgot to set his alarm." Zoey stated. "I was really hoping it was the second thing."

* * *

Zoey stepped outside the trailer and saw several other members of her team. Harold was reading a book under a tree while Owen watched over his shoulder.

"Now what's happening?" Owen asked. "The print's too small for me to read."

"Gosh, you'll have to find out on your own." Harold replied. "Just buy it for yourself."

"Oh, okay…" Owen responded.

"Where's everybody else?" Zoey asked.

"Scott went on a run, and Dave went with him, not sure why, and Leshawna's lookin' for some food in the mes hall." Anne Maria replied. "Wanna check her out with me?"

"Oh, sure." Zoey said. "Wait, why are you being nice to me? Usually you wouldn't willingly let me come with you."

"I'm bein' nice, don't make me change my mind." Anne Maria told her.

"Uh, all right." Zoey remarked. "Sure, I'd like to go look for Leshawna."

"Great." Anne Maria replied. "C'mon, let's go."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Anne Maria)**

"I don't really consider myself a likeable person." Anne Maria admitted. "But I kinda like the idea of a million dollars so I needed some friends. So, I decided to put my difference aside and try to befriend Zoey. Hope I didn't come off as too weird…"

* * *

Over by the boys' cabin, Lightning stepped out through the door and saw Beth, Shawn, and Jasmine all talking.

"Yo! Why'd none of ya wake Lightning up?" Lightning asked. "Lightning don't like being the last one up."

"Don't look at me, I slept in a tree again." Shawn told him.

"Hmmph, fine. Guess you get a pass." Lightning remarked. "But now Lightning's gotta exercise extra hard to make up for his sleep time. Where's Jo? He'd like to help with this."

"Jo and Sky went out for a jog." Jasmine replied.

"Man, Lightning woulda wanted to do that." Lightning remarked. "Oh well, whatever. He's gotta do push ups now. Yo, glasses girl, help me out."

"Who? Me?" Beth asked.

"Duh, you." Lightning said. "Count out Lightning's push ups. He'd do it himself, but he always loses count."

"Oh, all right." Beth replied.

Lightning dropped to the ground and began doing push ups.

"Uh, one, two, three, four." Beth began counting.

"So, you wanna do anything." Jasmine asked her boyfriend.

"How about we look for one of those idols Chris told us about?" Shawn suggested.

"Sure, I'd be up for that." Jasmine said.

Jasmine and Shawn walked off together.

Meanwhile, Scott was jogging around the film lot with Dave straggling behind him.

"Scott…. Scott…" Dave panted. "Can we slow down?"

"If you can't handle a little running, you shouldn't have come." Scott told him.

"I had nothing else going on… I thought this'd be fun." Dave replied.

"Well you were very clearly wrong." Scott said. "Now shove off, I've got important things to do."

"Like finding that idol?" Dave asked.

"How did you know? Uh, I mean, you have no proof. Uh, I mean… No." Scott tried to lie.

"Y'know, you're kinda bad at this." Dave told him. "Seriously, what's your strategy?"

This comment caused Scott to stop running.

"I won't tell you, that defeats the whole point." Scott replied.

"So you don't know, do you?" Dave asked.

"Shut up…" Scott murmured.

"I mean, you haven't even made an alliance with anyone." Dave pointed out. "Well, to my knowledge anyway."

"Okay, that's it, get out." Scott told Dave. "Go back to the trailer."

"I'm actually okay with this." Dave remarked. "I don't really like running anyway."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Scott)**

"As much as I hate to say it, Dave had a point." Scott admitted. "I need to be aligned with someone soon. Or else I'll be on the next train off this show."

* * *

In another part of the film lot, Sky and Jo were jogging together.

"Ah, nothing like building up a good sweat in the morning." Jo remarked as she ran.

"Yep." Sky replied. "So, why do you think Chris hasn't called us in for a challenge yet?"

"Knowing Chris, it could either be he's planning something especially painful or he's getting a manicure and just forgot he's supposed to be doing a show." Jo told her.

"It's probably the first one." Sky said.

"I'm glad you want to jog with me." Jo told Sky. "It's nice to talk to someone when I do this."

"Yeah, I have to agree." Sky commented. "Whenever I exercise alone, I listen to music but then I get my earbuds tangled around my neck and I have to stop early."

"Well that was a story I didn't want to hear." Jo remarked.

"Just trying to make small talk." Sky replied.

"Small talk is distracting, don't do it." Jo told her.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sky)**

"If it wasn't for Jo's constant cutthroat attitude, we could be friends." Sky remarked. "Too bad that's such a large part of her personality."

* * *

Meanwhile, in the mess hall, Anne Maria and Zoey entered and saw Leshawna sitting a table eating a plate of pancakes.

"Whoa, where'd ya get that food?" Anne Maria asked.

"Yeah, that looks way better than what Chef cooks." Zoey added.

"I poked around in the fridge." Leshawna explained. "Found these in there and heated them up. My guess is that Chef eats these personally."

"And you don't feel bad about eating them?" Zoey asked.

"After everything we've been through on this show, I say we deserve some pancakes." Leshawna stated.

"I guess you got a point." Zoey admitted.

"Any more in the fridge?" Anne Maria asked.

"Think so." Leshawna replied. "Bring it to the others, I think they'd enjoy it."

"I'm gettin' myself a helping first." Anne Maria stated.

"I kinda feel bad about this." Zoey admitted. "But those do look like good pancakes… Oh, why not."

The scene faded ahead to later with a close up of the film lot's loud speakers.

"Hello teams!" Chris greeted through the speakers. "Sorry for the wait! Don't worry, the challenge is happening right now! Meet me and Chef down at the usual spot."

After the announcement, the camera cut to later with both teams arriving the warehouse Chris and Chef were in.

"How was your morning?" Chris asked.

"Pretty good actually." Jasmine replied.

"I went on a nice run." Jo went on.

"We found some pancakes for everyone." Leshawna added.

"What?!" Chef exclaimed. "Those'd better not be _my_ pancakes! I used my grandma's secret recipe for those."

"Hang on, Chris, what took you so long to start the challenge?" Shawn asked.

"Yeah, it's not like you to let that 'appen." Jasmine added.

"Oh… I, uh, forgot to set an alarm clock." Chris sheepishly explained. "And _Chef_ took this opportunity to watch TV instead of waking me up."

"Hey! You know I don't get much free time." Chef replied.

"So there's not some extra hard challenge planned?" Beth asked.

"No, this challenge should be hard." Chris told her. "It's just not the reason we're starting at an unusual time."

"In that case, what is the challenge?" Harold asked.

"Yeah, I wanna know." Owen added.

"Well, Owen, I actually think you'll like it." Chris replied.

"Ooh! I will!" Owen excitedly exclaimed. "Please tell me!"

"Are you familiar with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?" Chris asked. "'Cause I'm basing a challenge off that movie!"

"It was also a book." Harold added.

"Shut up, Harold." Chris told him. "I'm trying to do my bit."

"Gosh, just trying to add information." Harold replied.

"Ahem, as I was saying, both teams will be guided on a tour through a virtual version of the chocolate factory." Chris explained. "Of course, just like in the film, messing up on the tour will get you ejected from the challenge. Whichever team has the most non-expelled contestants left at the end of the tour, wins. Alternatively, if the other team has completely lost all its members, the team that still has members wins."

"Mmm… Chocolate…" Owen drooled slightly.

"Uh, would there be nuts in any of these candies?" Dave asked. "'Cause I _might_ be allergic."

"Shut up and get in the machine." Chris told him.

The teams complied as each contestant sat down at a chair and put the visor of the helmets over their heads.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jasmine)**

"I knew that the challenge sounded easy, deceptively easy in fact." Jasmine stated. "In this challenge, you needed some 'ealthy paranoia. Fortunately, dating Shawn taught me all I needed to know about that."

* * *

After a bright flash of light, both teams found themselves standing in front of a large factory with a red carpet pathway leading to it being blocked off by a metal gate. At the top of the gate was a sign reading "Wonka Co.".

"So, this is the place." Jo remarked. "Pretty impressive."

"Uh… How are we supposed to get inside?" Shawn pointed out.

The main entrance to the factory burst open in dramatic fashion. From the entranceway stepped Chris, clad in a brightly coloured purple and orange suit and large top hat carrying a cane with him.

"Welcome!" Chris cheered.

Chris walked down the red carpet and once he got close to the gates, they opened on their own.

"Well… He certainly knows how to make a first impression." Leshawna remarked.

"Hello teams." Chris greeted. "Surprised to see me?"

"A little bit." Zoey admitted.

"I put myself into the game in order to guide you through your tour." Chris explained. "That way I get to be all up close and personal when each of you experiences your demise."

"You sounded way too glad about that." Jasmine pointed out.

"Yeah, I probably was." Chris admitted. "I'll try to tone it down now. Anywho, follow me into my factory of wonder."

Chris began walking into the factory and the contestants followed him.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sky)**

"After an entrance like that, I was a little worried about Chris." Sky admitted. "He was probably just in character… But still, that did not seem normal. I guess that was the point though."

* * *

The contestants entered the lobby of the chocolate factory where they saw Chef dressed in a green long sleeved shirt and white overalls.

"I still can't believe you're makin' me be _all_ the Oompa Loompa's." Chef said to his boss. "Bein' just one's embarrassing enough, but all of 'em? Gimme a break?"

"That doesn't sound very cheery to me, Chef." Chris told his partner.

"Wait, if you two are in this challenge… Who's operating this thing?" Beth asked.

"Sha-yeah, that don't make no sense." Lightning added.

"Don't worry about it, we put the interns in charge." Chris explained. "They seemed… Semi-competent. So they'll do. Now, we have a tour to get back to."

"Is there anything interesting in this lobby?" Scott asked.

"Well the tiles on the floor are made out of hard candy." Chris told him.

Owen quickly bent down towards the floor.

"But I wouldn't recommend eating them. There have been a lot of filthy feet here." Chris went on.

"Oh…" Owen trailed of as he stood back up straight. "Now you tell me."

"Anyway, enough waiting around." Chris told the teams. "Come: Into the factory!"

* * *

 **(Confessional: Zoey)**

"I feel like Chris might've been getting _too_ into character." Zoey commented.

* * *

Chris led both teams down a narrow hallway.

"This hallway don't look too exciting." Anne Maria asked.

"Yeah, there's no candy here." Beth added.

"We'll get to the candy soon enough." Chris replied. "Don't you worry."

The team stopped when they reached a door at the end of the hallway.

"Ready to see what's behind here?" Chris asked.

"I already know what's going to happen." Harold stated.

"Well, maybe you're wrong." Chris replied, sounding mildly irritated. "Anyhow, through the door!"

Chris opened up the doorway and the teams stepped through the threshold. On the other side of the doors was a large garden where all the "Plants" were made of candy with a river of chocolate running through the middle.

"Knew it." Harold said. "It's just like in the movie."

"I may be predictable. But I am fun." Chris remarked before turning to the teams. "Now, I'll just let you all have some time to relax and talk with each other. And please enjoy the chocolate… Even if you can't actually taste it. And remember, don't do anything that'd get you killed or injured."

"Thanks for the great advice." Jo sarcastically told him.

"Go, scatter, I have things to do." Chris told the teams.

The two teams walked out into the candy garden.

"I am very excited in seeing where this goes." Chris remarked.

The focus shifted over to the Editors wandering through the confectionery garden.

"Mmm… This stuff actually looks pretty good." Beth remarked.

"We should probably be careful." Jasmine told her team. "In the movie, there are a whole lotta ways to mess up."

"I've seen the film, you don't need to tell me this." Jo replied.

"Just trying to help." Jasmine said. "No need to get so riled up about it."

"I'm not riled up." Jo denied.

"So, what's the strategy for this challenge?" Sky asked.

"Seems pretty straightforward." Jo replied. "Don't do anything stupid."

"I mean… When ya put it like that it sounds easy." Lightning remarked.

"Well it isn't." Jo replied. "Chris probably has a lot of traps and trick questions. Or something along those lines."

"Huh, I actually agree with you there." Shawn admitted.

"Of course you do, it's because I'm right." Jo said.

"When you put it like that, it makes me agree with you less." Shawn stated.

Jo glared at him.

In another part of the garden the Writers wandered around.

"Ooh, these look good." Owen remarked as he bent down and plucked a large lollipop resembling a flower from the ground.

Owen licked the lollipop and a look of disappointment swept over him.

"Aw… I wanted to taste it…" Owen sighed.

"I'm sure it wouldn't have been that great." Anne Maria told him. "It'd just taste like any other lollipop."

"I guess…" Owen trailed off. "It still looks delicious."

"What's Chris aim here anyway?" Zoey asked. "We can't eat anything. So what's the point in letting us wander?"

"He wants us to mess up in some way." Harold replied. "Not sure how though."

"Or maybe, there's some sort of a hidden treasure here that'll make the rest of the challenge easier." Scott theorized.

"Scott, no offence, but that sounds ridiculous." Leshawna told him.

"Fine, but I'm gonna go look for anything useful." Scott proclaimed. "And I'm also going to rub it in your face how right I am."

Scott separated from the group, walking in a different direction than they were.

"I'll follow him." Dave told his team. "Make sure he isn't planning anything evil."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Dave)**

"Scott definitely has a history of evil plotting." Dave told the audience. "Wasn't sure what he was up to this time, but it probably wasn't good."

* * *

Back over with the Editors, the team stood on a bridge going over the chocolate river in the middle of the room.

"Something about that river really makes Lightning wanna swim in it." Lightning stated.

"Lightning, what did I say about not doing anything stupid?" Jo asked.

"Heh, uh, Lightning wasn't serious." Lightning told her. "Yeah…"

"I hope we move on soon." Beth commented. "I just tried eating a caramel growing on a bush. All it felt like was a flavourless piece of gum."

"This challenge would be a lot more fun if virtual Lightning still had his sense of taste." Lightning remarked.

"Look on the bright side, that means you're less likely to eat anything potentially dangerous." Jasmine pointed out.

"This is getting boring." Sky said. "Can we get off this bridge and look around some more?"

"I don't see why not." Jo replied. "Just as long as we don't get killed."

The team crossed the bridge to the other side, going further into the garden. As they walked around, Jasmine took notice of Chef, still clad in his ridiculous outfit, digging a hole in the ground.

"Hey, what do you think that's all about?" Jasmine asked, pointing at Chef.

"Okay… I'm intrigued." Shawn remarked. "Let's see."

The Editors approached Chef.

"Whadda you kids want?" Chef asked.

"We want to know what you're doing." Shawn replied.

"I dunno, Chris- I mean, Mr. Wonka, wanted me to do something in character." Chef explained. "So I'm plantin' some sorta candy plant… I think it's a gumdrop tree."

"So is there anything dangerous in here that we're supposed to avoid?" Sky asked.

"Ha, nice try." Chef told him. "I ain't tellin' ya that easily… Mostly 'casue I don't know. Now all of y'all beat it. I've gotta do more Oompa Loompa things."

"Let's get out of here." Jo said. "This is getting weird."

Off in another part of the garden, Scott was wandering around on his own.

"Hmm… Maybe there isn't a secret after all." Scott remarked.

Dave ran up to Scott.

"Oh, great. What do you want?" Scott asked.

"Just keeping an eye on you." Dave explained.

"Well, I've got news for you. There isn't much to see." Scott told him. "I can't find a damn thing."

"What are you even looking for?" Dave asked.

"Can you stop bugging me?" Scott requested.

"I don't have any reason to go away." Dave stated.

"Can't you go stalk that ex-girlfriend of yours or something?" Scott asked.

"She's not even my ex, we never technically dated." Dave said. "And also, I'm not a stalker."

"Look, can you just get out of here?" Scott told him, sounding increasingly annoyed. "Seriously! Out!"

Dave let out a yelp before quickly dashing away.

"And that's all the time we've got for this room!" Chris' voice rang out through the room.

Chris walked down the path towards the bridge as the team gathered around him.

"Too bad none of you found trouble." Chris remarked. "Oh well, better luck next time. Well, better luck for me. It'll be bad luck for you all. Now follow me!"

Chris led both teams over to a boat on chocolate river near the bridge with a ladder leading up into it.

"Huh? Where'd that come from?" Sky asked.

"Magic." Chris answered.

"That's not an answer." Leshawna told him.

"Shut up and get into that boat." Chris replied.

The contestants one by one climbed up into the boat with Chris getting in last.

"All right, this is gonna be real fun." Chris said, a sinister smile spreading across his face.

"This boat ride won't be as bad as the one actually in the movie will it?" Beth asked.

"Oh, you'll just have to see." Chris replied.

"Meaning yes?" Jasmine guessed.

"Pretty much." Chris admitted before looking over the side of the boat. "Chef! Get in here!"

Chef climbed up into the boat.

"Ugh, what am I 'sposed to do again." Chef asked.

Chris pointed over at a bicycle attached to the back of the boat.

"That is what propels our boat forward." Chris explained. "You pedal it."

"I still ain't getting' paid enough." Chef stated as he moved over to the bicycle and got on.

Chef began peddling the boat and the vessel started moving down the chocolate river.

"How does one person power this?" Harold asked. "It doesn't make sense."

"Magic!" Chris cheered.

"You're having way too much fun right now." Leshawna stated.

"Indeed I am." Chris admitted.

The boat entered a tunnel going into the wall leaving the teams shrouded in darkness.

"Is it 'sposed to be this dark?" Anne Maria asked.

"Oh, you want some lights?" Chris replied. "Coming right up."

The walls of the tunnel began flashing bright and rapidly changing colours.

"Isn't this fun?" Chris asked the contestants.

"Ah! So bright!" Dave shouted.

"You want some music too?" Chris questioned. "I sure do!"

The sound of sped up classical music and maniacal laughter sounded throughout the tunnel.

"Sha-what is that!" Lightning yelled. "Why's it so sinister!?"

"And where's it coming from?" Jasmine added.

"Magic!" Chris exclaimed yet again.

"Can you make things more terrifying?" Jo sarcastically asked.

"If you insist." Chris replied.

The boat sped up as did the pace of the music and the flashing lights in the tunnel.

"I wasn't being serious!" Jo shouted.

"Well, you gotta be more clear next time." Chris told her.

"I hate this so much!" Zoey shouted.

"I can see zombies everywhere!" Shawn screamed.

"Calm down, Shawn. There are no zombies." Jasmine told him.

"When will this nightmare end! Owen cried out.

"Oh, it stopped five seconds ago." Chris stated.

The contestants looked around and saw that they were no longer in the tunnel of flashing lights. Instead, they were docked in a large bright room near a concrete platform. The platform led to a door with the words "Inventing Room" printed on it.

"What just happened?" Scott asked, looking behind him.

Scott noticed that there was no tunnel to be seen and instead just a straight archway between the candy garden the room the teams had travelled to.

"What the- Where'd the tunnel go!?" Scott exclaimed.

"What tunnel?" Chris asked.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Anne Maria)**

"Chris had way too much fun messin' with our heads." Anne Maria stated. "I oughta have introduced my fists to his teeth. 'Course, if I did that, I'd probably be asked to leave the show and never come back."

* * *

Chris looked down and saw that two contestants had not taken the tunnel ride too well. Zoey and Dave were both lying on the ground with looks of dread on their faces. Dave had curled up into a ball and was rocking side to side while Zoey lay flat on her back staring at the ceiling.

"You gonna be okay?" Chris asked them, smiling a little.

"N-no…" Dave stammered.

"My eyes are still adjusting to the colours being normal…" Zoey replied.

"Well, if you're feeling that bad, why don'cha just leave the challenge?" Chris suggested. "We can take you out at any time."

"I'd like that very much actually." Dave told him. "I can still hear that music rining in my ears…"

"You seriously just givin' up like that?" Anne Maria asked.

"Aw, give the little guy a break." Owen told her.

"True, he's not lookin' too hot." Anne Maria admitted.

"Can someone please take me out of here?" Dave asked.

"As you wish." Chris replied. "So long, Dave."

Dave was engulfed by a blue light, when the light disappeared, Dave had vanished.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sky)**

"Is it wrong that I found Dave and Zoey being mildly traumatized by the tunnel to be slightly funny?" Sky asked. "Yeah… Yeah, it was."

* * *

"And what about you Zoey?" Chris asked. "Wanna join Dave in the real world?"

"N-no, I've got this." Zoey replied as she helped herself to her feet. "I can do this. I'm a fighting machine!"

She punched at the air several times.

"Sorry… I got a bit excited there." Zoey apologized.

"So you're staying? Very well." Chris said. "That's still one down for the Writers."

"Can we get on with the tour?" Leshawna asked.

"Yes, I'm very interested in seeing how you recreated the rest of the film." Harold added.

"Of course." Chris told the teams. "Follow me into… The inventing room!"

The teams got off of the boat and on to the concrete platform.

"This room is where I, the great Chris Wonka, keep all of my experiments not yet available to the candy consuming public." Chris explained. "Please be very careful. There's plenty of delicate candy related machinery in here. Or, don't be careful. To be honest, it'd be a lot more fun if you didn't."

"Enough with the suspense already." Jo told him. "Just let us in."

"Agreed, I'd like to get as far away from that demon-tunnel as possible." Jasmine added.

"Sheesh, haven't you ever heard of build up?" Chris asked. "Fine. Just enter the room. But it's gonna be way less impactful without the full intro."

"You mean that _wasn't_ the full version?" Leshawna asked jokingly.

"Just get in there." Chris told her.

Chris pushed open the door and both teams entered. The interior of the room was brightly lit and metallic with various devices covered by tarps and blankets scattered throughout the interior.

"Pretty sweet, right?" Chris asked the contestants. "See what I did there? _Sweet._ 'Cause it's a candy factory."

"It's not that clever." Shawn told him.

"Mmm… Sweet…" Owen trailed off.

"This place ain't that impressive." Lightning stated. "Lightning don't see any inventions anywhere."

"That's 'cause I keep them covered because they're either too dangerous to have out in the open, or I don't want them to get stolen." Chris explained. "But don't worry, I'll show you a few of them."

"Wait, exactly how dangerous are these inventions of yours?" Jasmine asked.

"Oh, don't worry, you'll be fine." Chris brushed off her concerns.

"What? You can't just ignore me like that, mate." Jasmine told him. "I'd like a proper answer."

"Too bad, you're not getting one." Chris told her. "I don't have to answer for anything. Now, everybody follow me."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jasmine)**

"In a room full of weird machines, there was a pretty big chance someone was going to be knocked from the challenge." Jasmine stated. "Chris not answerin' me wasn't 'elping my suspicions either."

* * *

Chris led the teams over to one machine covered by a colourful quilt.

"Chef, reveal the machine!" Chris ordered.

Chef walked up to the covered machine.

"Ugh, this costume's gettin' more humiliating by the second…" Chris grumbled.

"Just do your job." Chris told him.

Chef grumbled to himself before pulling the quilt off the covered machines to reveal it to the teams. Once revealed, the machine the teams saw looked very bulky and had many confusing levers, buttons, and knobs.

"Uh… What does it do exactly?" Beth asked.

"That is a very good question." Chris replied. "This machine produces a new highly experimental candy I'm making."

"And what's this candy called?" Harold asked.

"I call it: 'Chewable Cotton Candy'." Chris replied. "I've always been disappointed with the fact that cotton candy melts as soon as it gets in your mouth. So with a little Wonka Magic, trademark, I created a brand of cotton candy that doesn't do that."

"Mmm… Cotton candy…" Owen trailed off. "Yum."

"Here, try some I made earlier." Chris told him.

Chris reached into a box near the machine and pulled out a stick with cotton candy on it. Owen quickly snatched it up.

"Now, on to something I'm really proud of." Chris stated as he led the contestants over to another covered contraption.

He yanked the blanket off to reveal another confusing looking machine.

"This machine makes the world's sourest candy." Chris told the contestants. "It's technically not safe for eating yet. Which is exactly why I urge you to try some."

"Psht, can't be that sour." Scott remarked. "We don't have a sense of taste in this world."

"Sha-yeah, Lightning wants to try some too." Lightning added.

"Be my guest. Just remember, I cannot be held responsible for anything that may or may not happen to you." Chris told them.

Chris took out a box of pre-made sour candy balls about the size of a human eyeball.

"Hmm… Maybe I shouldn't." Scott considered.

"Man, don't be such a coward." Lightning told him.

"So, gonna try them?" Chris asked.

"You bet'cha." Lighting replied. "Give 'em to me."

"Ooh! Ooh! I want some too." Owen added. "Mmm… Sour candy."

"Ah what the hey, give me some too." Scott added.

Lightning, Owen, and Scott reached into the box and they each took a sour candy.

"Uh, guys, I'd have to advise against this." Harold told them.

"Yeah, I don't even like regular sour candies." Beth added.

"Girl, we don't got no taste buds. We'll be perfectly fine." Lightning said.

Owen, Lightning, and Scott popped the sour candies into their mouth.

"Hey, this isn't so b-" Scott began before suddenly stopping out of the blue. "Gah! Why is it _actually_ sour!"

"Ah! I can feel my tongue shrivelling! Oh why!" Owen dramatically shouted.

"Oh, yeah, I told the interns to squeeze some lemon juice into the _real_ mouths of anyone who tries to eat these." Chris explained. "I probably shoulda mentioned that. But it's funner this way."

"Not cool!" Lightning shouted. "Lightning's tongue feels like it's melting."

"You'll probably wanna douse your mouths in a nice gold glass of milk." Chris told them. "Which I've told the interns to pour in the _real world_. In other words, if you want an immediate refreshment, you have to drop out of the challenge."

"Ah, fine, Lightning's outta here!" Lightning stated.

"Why has candy betrayed me!" Owen exclaimed. "I want out of here too!"

"Grr! Me too." Scott agreed. "Seriously man, pouring lemon juice in my mouth is not cool!"

* * *

 **(Confessional: Scott)**

"I can't believe _that_ was a sentence I had to say." Scott remarked.

* * *

Lightning, Owen, and Scott disappeared in a flash of blue light.

"So, that happened." Chris remarked. "Let's continue on our tour, shall we? Please, follow me."

Chris began walking towards an exit to the room and after a short awkward silence, the contestants followed him. The group exited the door and found themselves in a hallway.

The camera focused on the remaining Editors as they followed Chris down the passage.

"Okay, so, what did we just learn from that?" Jo asked her teammates.

"Don't eat weird candies?" Beth replied.

"Basically." Jo said. "We all clear on that."

"I mean, it's a pretty obvious takeaway." Jasmine told Jo. "We're not dumb or anything."

"Some of you coulda fooled me." Jo remarked.

"Jo, your attitude isn't exactly doing you any favours right now." Jasmine said. "Maybe you should simmer down for now."

"How about everyone just takes a few deep breaths?" Sky asked.

"I like that." Beth added in.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jo)**

"I'm starting to worry about Jasmine." Jo told the audience. "As capable as she is, I should probably get rid of her soon."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jasmine)**

"Jo may be a good athlete, but I'd rather run through a field of cacti blindfolded than 'ave a conversation with 'er." Jasmine stated. "Okay, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration. I'd take the blindfold off."

* * *

The camera focused on Writers, and more specifically, Anne Maria and Zoey in the back.

"So why were you being so nice to me earlier today?" Zoey asked Anne Maria.

"What'cha talkin' about?" Anne Maria replied.

"You _willingly_ spent time with me. Don't you hate me for stealing Vito or whatever?" Zoey pointed out.

"Ah, that's in the past." Anne Maria said. "Can't a girl try and make a new friend?"

"You are seriously starting to creep me out." Zoey told her. "And I had to go through that tunnel just earlier."

"Why're you actin' like this is so out of the ordinary?" Anne Maria asked. "It ain't weird. Besides, you ain't in any alliances. It'd be nice to have someone who's got your back."

"I guess you've kinda got a point." Zoey admitted. "I'm still not sure if I'm ready to trust you though."

"Fair enough." Anne Maria remarked. "But I'm just sayin' it could work out."

The camera moved ahead to Leshawna and Harold talking.

"So, Leshawna… I was wondering if we could talk about… Our relationship?" Harold asked.

"Harold, we went over this, I'm just not into you like that." Leshawna told him.

"But did you at leas think about it?" Harold asked.

"I did. I like you as a friend. But I'm sorry, I just ain't into you like that." Leshawna said.

"That's fair…" Harold sighed.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Harold)**

"Maybe I should give up before it gets creepy." Harold remarked.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Leshawna)**

"I'm fine with bein' friends with Harold." Leshawna told the audience. "Romance, that's a grey area for sure."

* * *

Chris and the teams stopped in front of a door marked "Nut Room".

"Nut room?" Zoey confusedly read off the sign. "What's that mean."

"You'll see." Chris replied.

"I already know what's going to happen." Harold said.

"Well, don't ruin it for the ones who don't." Chris told him. "Now, please follow me."

Chris entered the new room and the contestants followed him in. Once inside, the contestants found themselves in a circular room with shelves. On the shelves were squirrels tapping at various types of different nuts. Some of the nuts they tossed in to a large hole in the middle of the room, while others they kept.

"Okay… I think I'm more confused than when I came in here." Zoey commented.

"It's simple. Well, okay, not really. But I like making other people feel inferior by saying that." Chris said.

"So what do they do?" Anne Maria asked.

"Oh, right. This is where all the nuts I use in various different chocolate delights come from." Chris explained. "The squirrels sort through the nuts to decide if it's a good nut or a bad nut. If it's good, it goes into a candy bar. If it's bad, it goes down the garbage chute."

"So how exactly do squirrels decide this?" Shawn asked.

"Nobody knows. Only the squirrels do." Chris replied. "Anyone care to pet one?"

"No thank you, I know what happens in the book." Harold stated.

"I assure you, these squirrels will not hurt you at all." Chris told the contestants. "Chef! Get them down!"

Chef entered the room.

"Why can't you get 'em yourself?" Chef asked.

"I don't wanna get tiny squirrel claw marks all over this fancy suit." Chris explained. "Take care of it."

Chef grumbled to himself and extended his arm up to one of the ledges.

"All right little guy, come down here." Chef told the squirrel.

One of the squirrels looked down at him and climbed on to Chef's hand.

"All right, who wants to hold this little guy first?" Chef asked.

There was a silence from the contestants.

"Nobody? All right, I'll choose for you in that case." Chris told the teams. "Zoey, you're up."

"Wait, what?" Zoey replied. "Um, all right."

Chef brings the squirrel over to Zoey and places it in her hands.

"Uh… Hey there." Zoey said to the squirrel. "Who's a cute little guy?

The squirrel sniffs at Zoey's hands.

"Aw, you're so sweet." Zoey remarked.

After that, the squirrel did something unexpected and began climbing up Zoey's arm.

"Whoa!" Zoey exclaimed. "What's going on?"

The squirrel reached the top of Zoey's head and knocked on it with their tiny hands.

"Wh-what does that mean?" Zoey asked.

"It's testing if you're a good nut or not." Chris explained.

"That doesn't explain things." Zoey told him.

The squirrel then nuzzled Zoey's head, messing up her hair in the process.

"This is good, right?" Zoey asked.

"Sure is. It means they like you." Chris replied. "Who wants to go next?"

"Uh… Okay. I'll do it." Shawn said.

The squirrel leaped from Zoey's head and into Shawn's hands.

"Wow… These tiny feet feel really weird…" Shawn remarked.

"You'll get used to them actually." Zoey remarked.

Like with Zoey, the squirrel scurried up Shawn's arm and hid itself under his knit hat.

"Gah!" Shawn exclaimed. "It's tickling me like crazy now!"

"Does it like you?" Jasmine asked.

"I honestly have no idea!" Shawn replied.

The squirrel climbed out from under the hat.

"So, anyone else wanna have a go?" Chris asked.

Nobody else said anything.

"How about we let the squirrel choose?" Chris suggested. "Sounds fun, huh."

The squirrel nodded and leaped from Shawn over to Jo.

"Whoa! Why me?" Jo asked.

"Just let it happen, you'll like it." Chris told her.

Jo squirmed as the squirrel climbed up her.

"Ugh… These tiny feet make me feel uncomfortable." Jo grumbled. "It's cuteness is not making up for its tiny hand and feet."

Despite the discomfort, the squirrel reached Jo's head.

"Now what's it doing?" Jo asked.

"Evaluating you." Chris explained.

The squirrel knocked on Jo's head with its little hands.

"Does it like me?" Jo questioned.

The squirrel stood up on its hind legs and squeaked.

"Ooh, I think it's communicated to its friends." Chris remarked.

"Wait, what?" Jo asked. "What does that mean."

From the ledges several other squirrels looked up from their work and began scampering down the wall.

"Oh crap, this looks bad." Jo said.

"I don't think they like you." Chris told her.

The squirrels swarmed at Jo and forced her to the ground. This caused the other contestants to move away from the area.

"Let go of me you stupid rodents!" Jo shouted.

"Wh-what's happening?" Shawn asked.

"She's going where all the nuts the squirrels don't like go: The garbage chute." Chris nonchalantly explained.

"What!" Jo yelled. "Let me go!"

Jo tried to shake loose but couldn't get away from the squirrels.

"Grr!" Jo grunted. "Why are they so strong! I'll get you for this, Chris! You are going to-"

She was abruptly cut short when the combined efforts of the squirrels tossed her down the garbage chute. The squirrels scattered as if nothing happened and returned to their nut testing work.

"Well, let's continue the tour, shall we?" Chris asked.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, you can't just let somethin' like that happen and pretend nothing happened." Anne Maria told him.

"Yeah, that's seriously messed up." Sky added.

"Pretend _what_ didn't happen?" Chris asked. "Now come on, we've got more factory to see."

Chris exited the room. After a short silence and an exchange of concerned looks, the teams followed him out.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sky)**

"Despite some of the… Less than desirable, aspects of Jo's personality, she definitely didn't deserve that." Sky said.

* * *

The teams continued to follow Chris down the winding halls of the factory.

"So, where are we going next?" Jasmine asked.

"Somewhere nice?" Beth asked.

"Oh, you'll see when you get there." Chris told them. "All you've gotta do is remember what happened in the film."

"Hmm… Let's see: Candy forest, hell tunnel, inventing room, and nut room." Harold listen. "That would make the next room-"

"Shh!" Chris hushed him. "I want to surprise anyone who can't remember or hasn't seen it. Just talk with each other until we get there."

The contestant kept walking through the corridors. The camera focused on the remaining four Editors.

"So… Any thoughts?" Beth asked. "What do you think our chances are?"

"I'd say we 'ave a good chance." Jasmine remarked. "Both of us are tied in terms of numbers of members left. And we all seem capable enough."

"I dunno, Chris could pull any manner of unfair trick." Shawn pointed out.

"True, this is _Chris_ we're talking about." Jasmine admitted.

"I sure hope our losing streak doesn't come back." Sky commented. "There aren't that many of us left."

"I still don't see why we 'aven't gotten rid of Jo yet." Jasmine told her teammates.

"Same here." Beth added. "She isn't exactly someone I wanna talk to."

"Guys, she's one of our best athletes." Sky pointed out. "That'll keep us from losing any more challenges."

"Is it really worth keeping her around though?" Jasmine asked. "She'd eliminate any one of us if we so much as look at her the wrong way."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sky)**

"I guess Jasmine does have a point." Sky admitted. "But I dunno… There's something that draws me towards Jo. I don't know what it is."

* * *

Chris came to another door at the very end of the hallway.

"All right, now, this room is just a _bit_ dangerous." Chris explained. "So, I'll have to ask you to wear these protective glasses."

Chris takes several pairs of sunglasses out from a cardboard box by the door to the room.

"But I'm already wearing glasses." Beth pointed out.

"Me too." Harold added. "How will we see?"

"Well, either wear both pairs at the same time, or just stumble around without them." Chris told the two.

"At least he's honest…" Beth sighed.

The contestants and Chris all put on their protective sunglasses. Beth removed her normal glasses to put on the protective ones while Harold simply tried to fit both on at the same time.

"Now, come, through the door!" Chris cheered.

Chris opened the door and the teams walked in. Once they were inside they looked around and saw they were in a blindingly bright white room with a large pedestal in the centre of it.

"Ah, even with the sunglasses it hurts my eyes…" Anne Maria remarked. "What's up with that?"

"You'd better keep that protective gear on." Chris told the contestants. "The last person to come in here without sunglasses is currently learning how to read Braille."

"Hope these don't fall off…" Shawn nervously trailed off.

"Now, you're probably wondering what kind of candy I make here." Chris said. "The answer is, I don't. This room is more… Marketing."

"This doesn't look like what'd I'd expect marketing to be." Jasmine remarked.

"Well, we're actually testing something in marketing right now." Chris explained. "It's a way of delivering free samples right to the homes of the consumer. Care for a demonstration?"

"Uh… Sure." Zoey replied.

"Great." Chris replied before looking to his left. "Chef! Get everything set up!"

Chef entered the room, now wearing sunglasses, and wheeled in a television on a podium with wheels.

"So, this is how I'm going to be giving out the samples." Chris explained. "I transport a candy bar from here in the factory, straight into the homes of millions."

"Where's the candy?" Leshawna asked.

"Chef! Bring that in too!" Chris ordered.

Chef quickly exited the room. After a few short moments he came in lugging a gigantic wrapped chocolate bar with him.

"How's he able to carry that on his own?" Harold pointed out.

"Magic!" Chris cheered.

"Gosh, I really should've known you'd say that at this point." Harold remarked.

Chef dragged the enormous chocolate bar over to the platform in the middle of the room.

"Thank you." Chris said. "Now, activate… The machine!"

Chef ran over to a control panel in one corner of the room and pressed a series of buttons. A beam came from the ceiling and the giant chocolate bar began to levitate.

"So you see, the chocolate bar is going to be transported from here, to the TV screen." Chris explained.

The chocolate bar disappeared in a flash of light.

"Now, please turn your attention to the television." Chris told the teams.

The teams gathered around the TV and saw the chocolate bar materialize on the monitor's screen at a normal size.

"Seems like a waste of chocolate." Jasmine remarked.

"Yeah, you're spending more money on the giant candy bar than it's worth." Leshawna added.

"And you'd be giving it away for free too." Harold went on.

"Look! It was in the book, okay!" Chris shouted at the teams before resuming a calmer normal tone. "Anywho, anyone wanna sample the shrunken candy?"

"It's not gonna like, make our heads explode or anything, right?" Zoey asked.

"Of course not. Don't be ridiculous." Chris replied. "It's a regular bar of chocolate."

"It's in a TV, how would we even get it out?" Sky pointed out.

"Don't you remember anything about the movie?" Chris asked.

"I do, but it doesn't make much sense." Sky told him.

"Magic!" Chris exclaimed. "Now, does anyone want the candy?"

"It looks pretty good." Beth commented. "I think… I wish I still had my glasses."

Beth reached at the screen and grabbed at thin air.

"Dang it…" Beth murmured. "It looked closer."

She leaned forward a bit and tried to grab at the chocolate. Beth managed to reach through the screen and grab the chocolate bar. However, after she got a hold of it, Beth tripped and fell to the ground landing on her face.

"I'm okay…" Beth weakly muttered.

"Need help?" Zoey asked.

"Don't worry… I got it…" Beth replied.

She pulled herself up from the ground but in the process, her sunglasses fell off.

"Ah!" Beth screamed. "You weren't kidding about it being bright!"

"Indeed I wasn't." Chris casually replied.

Beth shut her eye and began feeling around on the floor for her sunglasses.

"Where are they…" Beth muttered.

"Should someone help her?" Zoey asked.

Jasmine bent down and grabbed Beth's sunglasses.

"Beth, 'ere you are." Jasmine told her.

"Thank you." Beth replied.

She confusedly grabbed at her sunglasses. After a few failed attempts, Beth managed to get a grip on the protective glasses. Beth put them on and opened her eyes.

"It's still too bright…" Beth remarked as she turned around. "I can't see… What happened?"

"I guess it's too overpowering for you." Chris commented. "So, you're either temporarily blinded for the rest of the challenge or you can quit right now."

"No, I can do it." Beth told him. "It's not so bad."

"Great, now, let's conclude the tour." Chris stated.

The teams began following Chris towards the exiting door but on the way, Beth tripped over and fell face first to the floor again.

"I'm not okay…" Beth murmured. "My face feels numb…"

"So, you giving up now?" Chris asked.

"No… I can do this." Beth replied a she once again picked herself up. "Everything's just super bright right now. That's all."

"Now, if you please, we've got somewhere to go." Chris told the contestants.

The teams exited the shrinking room and went into another hallway. As they left, the contestants discarded their protective glasses into a trash bin near the door.

"So where are we going now?" Shawn asked.

"It won't be a surprise if I told you." Chris stated.

"Hmm… Chris has run through all the rooms in the book." Harold commented. "That would only leave-"

"Shh! Don't ruin it!" Chris shushed him.

"Can someone help me?" Beth asked. "I'm still having trouble seeing."

"I've got you." Sky replied as she grabbed on to Beth's hand.

"Thanks." Beth replied. "You're a real help."

Chris stopped in front of an elevator and the contestants halted as well.

"All right, here we are." Chris told the teams.

"What?" Anne Maria confusedly murmured. "It's just an elevator… Oh, wait, now I remember."

The host pressed a button to call down the elevator and after a few moments the doors opened up. On the inside, the elevator was revealed to be made entirely out of glass.

"Please, step inside." Chris instructed his contestants.

Chris and the teams entered the elevator.

"Is it safe for an elevator to be made like this?" Zoey asked.

"Probably." Chris replied, sounding like he didn't care.

"So where are we going?" Shawn asked.

"Well, see these?" Chris asked, gesturing to a large panel of buttons with various symbols by the doors. "These buttons lead you everywhere in the factory. But there's only one button I haven't pressed. And I have no idea where it goes. Anyone wanna press it?"

"Ooh, I wanna give this a go." Anne Maria asked.

"Give what a go?" Beth asked. "Everything's still bright for me."

"All right, just press right here." Chris told Anne Maria, pointing to a button in the bottom right corner.

"Here goes nothing." Anne Maria remarked.

Anne Maria pressed the button and the elevator began shaking.

"Wh-what's this mean?" Beth asked.

"I don't know, but I feel compelled to hold on to something." Leshawna remarked.

All of a sudden, the elevator shot straight up at an alarming speed. Most of the competitors, and Chris, grabbed on to the elevator's railing. The only person who didn't was Beth. When Sky let go of her hand, Beth was slammed back and forth between one side of the elevator to the other.

"Ow! Oof! Ouch!" Beth screamed as she ping-ponged back and forth.

"Sorry!" Sky apologized. "I needed both hands!"

"It's- Gah! Fine!" Beth replied, still slamming into the walls.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Beth)**

"It was at that point I realized, I probably should've quit in the shrinking room." Beth stated.

* * *

"Beth, grab on." Leshawna told Beth as she extended one of her hands.

Beth quickly grabbed on to Leshawna's hand.

"Wow, thanks a lot." Beth replied.

"No problem, girl. Leshawna replied.

The elevator continued to shoot upwards.

"How big is this factory?" Zoey asked Chris.

"I have no clue." Chris admitted.

Just then, the elevator went straight to the roof and into the air, yet it didn't fall.

"So, what do you think?" Chris asked.

"Wow… What a great view." Harold remarked.

"Yeah, real pretty." Anne Maria agreed.

Zoey nodded.

"This is actually a little scary…" Sky admitted. "Only a little though."

"You okay Jasmine?" Shawn asked his girlfriend. "You've been awfully quiet."

"I can handle the h-height. I-it's just being in this closed glass room…. W-with so many people…" Jasmine stammered. "It's just a little…"

"Claustrophobic?" Chris finished her sentence.

Jasmine nervously nodded.

"Um, e-exactly 'ow much longer is this ride?" Jasmine asked.

"Oh, you should be expecting a decent right about…" Chris began trailing off. "Now!"

The teams experienced a sudden drop when the elevator began rapidly plummeting towards the ground.

"I do not want this!" Jasmine screamed.

In her panic, Jasmine lost her grip on the railing and smashed into the various walls of the elevator like Beth had done previously.

"Gah! Now things are getting worse!" Jasmine yelled. "Can someone just grab me already!"

Jasmine slammed face first into one of the walls and Anne Maria quickly grabbed her arm.

"Dammit! That hurt!" Jasmine exclaimed before looking over Anne Maria. "Oh, thank you. Wow, 'ow come that glass isn't broken?"

"Magic!" Chris cheered.

"Hey, Jasmine, don't wanna be the barer of bad news… But you're kinda heavy." Anne Maria told her.

"Wait, what?" Jasmine confusedly replied.

Jasmine's large build caused Anne Maria to lose her grip on the railing and the two girls were sent thrashing around the rapidly descending elevator.

"Almost there… Almost… Almost…" Chris trailed off. "And here we are!"

The elevator came to an abrupt stop, moments before hitting the ground. It peacefully drifted down until it settled on the ground outside the factory.

The doors to the elevator opened and Jasmine made a quick dash for them.

"Ah! Fresh air!" Jasmine cheered once she was outside. "I'm free and- Why does my entire body feel numb?"

Jasmine fell over and landed on her back.

"Yeah, slamming into reinforced glass repeatedly does that to you." Chris remarked as he exited the elevator.

Jasmine began to glow blue.

"Wh-what? I'm taken out of the challenge?" Jasmine confusedly said. "That's ridiculous, I can still move."

"That's not what your body's telling the machine." Chris told her.

Jasmine disappeared after a flash of blue light.

"Well, that concludes our tour!" Chris announced to the teams. "And our challenge as well. And since, the numbers of the teams are three Angry Editors, four Raving Writers. I think you can do the math on who won. Anywho, back to the real world!"

* * *

 **(Confessional: Beth)**

"I'm proud of myself for making it through the challenge with my temporary blindness and elevator injuries." Beth stated. "On the other hand… We still lost."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jasmine)**

"I like to consider myself a good sport when it comes to losing." Jasmine told the audience. "But I still say the machine made an unfair call back there."

* * *

The remaining contestants, and Chris, came out of their chairs where they were greeted by the other contestants and Chef.

"So… Who won?" Owen asked.

"Your team!" Chris announced to him. "But as for the Editors, looks like they're gonna be one member short tonight."

The members of the Editors collectively sighed.

"Anyhow, we've actually got a good long time 'til the elimination ceremony." Chris told the teams. "And lunch isn't for a while either. So, I suggest you all just enjoy yourselves. While you can, that is."

The scene shifted to later with Dave walking around one part of the film lot by himself.

"You know, I kinda like it out here by myself." Dave commented. "Solitude is pretty nice. I should do this more oft-"

Dave was cut off when he accidentally walked right into a wooden barrel by a wall to one of the studios.

"Ow!" Dave exclaimed.

In a fit of frustration, Dave kicked the barrel, knocking it over but also causing Dave to recoil his foot in pain.

"That was a bad idea!" Dave cried out in pain as he jumped around while holding his foot.

After the pain had stopped, Dave looked around and noticed something had fallen out of the barrel he had just kicked over.

"What the heck is that?" Dave wondered out loud.

Dave curiously approached the object to inspect it closer only to see that it was the Stone Chris Bust he was told about from much earlier on.

"Hey! This is one of those statues Chris told me about!" Dave excitedly cheered before putting his hand over his mouth.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Dave)**

"Finding that idol put me in a position of significant power." Dave told the camera. "Being able to block someone's vote is a big thing if used right. Of course, finding the right time to use it is pretty tricky. But having that much power is exciting to say the least."

* * *

Dave quickly pocketed the idol and looked around to make sure nobody saw him.

"What'cha doin' there, buddy?" A male voice asked from out of Dave's view.

"Gah!" Dave exclaimed as he quickly turned around.

Dave noticed Scott standing a few feet away from him.

"Where'd you come from? How long have you been here?" Dave asked.

"Long enough to see what you found." Scott replied.

"Are you trying to blackmail me?" Dave asked.

"Of course not. But it'd be a real shame if someone told the rest of the team that you had the idol and they conspired to get rid of you." Scott told him.

"What do you want from me?" Dave questioned. "If you want me to hand over the invincibility statue, you're not getting it."

"I don't want that." Scott stated. "But… If we formed an alliance of some sort. I'm sure that little statue would help the both of us."

"Yeah… I'm just gonna walk away now." Dave told Scott as he slowly began to back off.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Scott)**

"I need to find a way to get Dave on my side." Scott told the audience. "If only I were more persuasive."

* * *

Meanwhile, up in a tree by one of the trailers Shawn and Jasmine were sitting on one of the branches together.

"So why exactly did you call this meeting here?" Jasmine asked.

"I needed a place to talk to you in private." Shawn explained.

"There really wasn't anywhere better?" Jasmine pointed out.

"This is one of the only places I feel comfortable." Shawn told her.

"Arright, what is it you wanted to say?" Jasmine asked.

"I agree with you about Jo. She's starting to be a bit of a problem." Shawn stated.

"Only a bit?" Jasmine jokingly asked. "But seriously, it'd be wise to get rid of 'er while we still can."

"Agreed. You think the others will be on our side though?" Shawn asked.

"Most likely." Jasmine stated.

"Great, let's hope this goes well." Shawn said.

"Don't worry Shawn, I know it'll go well." Jasmine replied.

Meanwhile, out behind the girls' trailer, Beth was sitting on the ground by herself.

"Hmm… Who to vote for." Beth pondered.

"Yo, girl, what'cha thinking about?" A male voice asked from out of view.

Beth looked around and saw Lightning approaching her.

"Oh hey Lightning." Beth greeted. "What do you want."

"Lightning's been thinkin', he don't really have anyone on his side exactly." Lightning explained. "And so he got to thinkin'… How 'bout you?"

"Me?" Beth confusedly asked. "You sure?"

"Sha-yeah." Lightning replied. "Lightning's got the brawn, looks, and brains, you've got… Other stuff."

"Oh… Uh, thank you." Beth responded. "I guess."

"So, girl, who do ya think we should get rid of?" Lightning asked.

"Hold on, I never agreed to this alliance." Beth pointed out.

s"Psht, what's the point in even considering." Lightning said. "You know you're gonna accept Lightning's amazing offer."

"Not necessarily." Beth replied.

"What's that even mean?" Lightning asked.

"It means stop bothering me." Beth told him.

Beth stood up and began walking away from Lightning.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Lightning)**

"Lightning feels like that didn't go so well." Lightning commented. "Hmmph, bein' a lone wolf won't work out for too long if Lighting don't get someone to help him out."

* * *

Meanwhile, Jo and Sky were inside the girls' cabin together.

"Unbelievable…" Jo grumbled as she lay on her bed. "I can't believe we lost again."

"Cheer up." Sky told her. "We were pretty close."

"Close isn't good enough." Jo replied. "Hey, why are you hanging out with me anyway?"

"Well, right now, I just felt like relaxing." Sky said.

"So, who's got your vote?" Jo asked.

"Probably Beth." Sky admitted. "She didn't do too well in the challenge. But then again… I do feel a little bad too. What about you?"

"Definitely Jasmine." Jo told Sky.

"Isn't the counter productive?" Sky asked. "Other than her claustrophobia, she's one of the strongest members of the team."

"It's not about that, it's the fact that she might get too powerful if I leave her around for too long." Jo stated. "Besides, she was the last one out of the challenge. For all we know, it's her fault we lost."

"Why are you telling me all this?" Sky asked.

"Truth is, I see some of myself in you, Sky." Jo told her. "I feel like we could work well together. I'd watch your back if you watched mine."

"Are you offering an alliance?" Sky asked.

"Exactly." Jo replied.

"What's the catch?" Sky questioned.

"You're a clever one." Jo remarked. "The catch is, to prove your loyalty to me, you have to vote out Jasmine with me."

"I'm not so sure." Sky responded after a few moments of thinking. "You're a great athlete… But your people skills are… Lacking. Besides, Jasmine's my friend."

"I'm just saying, I'm your best option for an ally." Jo told her. "Shawn and Jasmine have each other, Beth and Lightning are pretty much hopeless. Just think about it."

"Yeah… I think I'm just gonna go now." Sky stated.

Sky began exiting the trailer.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jo)**

"Hmmph, that didn't go as well as I hoped it would." Jo admitted. "Of course, it could've been a lot worse too."

* * *

The scene changed ahead to later with the Editors sitting in front of the usual elimination stage. Chris walked up on to the stage.

"So, how did you all enjoy my little factory tour?" Chris asked.

"The less said, the better." Shawn replied.

"I was expecting that." Chris admitted. "Anyway, you all know what you're 'sposed to do at this point. Get to the voting!"

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Jasmine)**

Jasmine held up a crossed out photograph of Jo.

"I've tried tolerating you, but at this point, I've grown rather cross." Jasmine commented. "I really 'ope you're finally gone."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Shawn)**

Shawn drew over a picture of Jo and showed it to the camera.

"This team would be a lot better off without Jo in charge." Shawn told the audience.

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Sky)**

"On one hand, I think I might benefit from an alliance with Jo." Sky stated. "But on the other hand, I don't wanna vote out Jasmine. I could vote for Jo… Hmm… Or maybe Beth… I need to think this through some more."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Beth)**

Beth held up a photograph of Lightning with an X over it.

"This is mostly just for being kinda obnoxious." Beth explained. "Also, you were the first one from our team out of the challenge."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Lightning)**

Lightning showed a photo of Jasmine with an X over it to the camera.

"Lighting don't have nothing against you, tall girl." Lightning remarked. "But you were the last one outta the challenge, so Lightning kinda blames you for us losin'. Nothin' personal."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Jo)**

Jo held a crossed out picture of Jasmine in the view of the camera.

"Listen, you're getting in the way of me being this team's leader. And I can't have that." Jo said.

* * *

The scene changed to the stage post-voting.

"Well, you've cast your votes and I've gone over them." Chris informed the audience. "Before we can get to the juicy stuff, the following contestants are safe: Beth, Shawn, and Sky!"

Chef threw Gilded Chris Awards to the three of them.

"Jasmine, Jo, Lightning, one of you only has a singular vote against them." Chris told them. "And that someone is…"

…

…

…

…

…

…

"… Lightning!"

Lightning caught the award once Chef tossed it at him.

"Aw yeah! Lightning stays in the game!" Lightning cheered.

"Jo, Jasmine, you two are pretty close in terms of votes against you." Chris explained to them. "But one of you has just one more. And this final Gilded Chris Award goes to…"

…

…

…

…

…

…

"…. Jo!"

Chef threw the final award to Jo who swiftly caught it.

"You made the right choice there." Jo said leaning closer to Sky.

"I guess…" Sky mumbled.

"What? You lot voted me out?" Jasmine asked. "I don't understand."

"Don't look at me, I had nothing to do with this." Beth defended herself.

"Jasmine, please proceed to the Lame-O-Sine." Chris instructed her.

Jasmine complied, standing up and walking down the red carpet towards the limo. She reached for the car door's handle when she heard footsteps approaching her.

"Hey! Don't leave yet!" Shawn's voice called out.

Jasmine turned back around and saw Shawn running at her. He stopped once he was close enough.

"Just wanted to give you a real goodbye." Shawn told her. "Don't worry, I'll get back at Jo for you and win the million."

"That's real great Shawn." Jasmine replied. "Show 'er who's boss."

"Don't worry, I will." Shawn said.

Jasmine bent down so she was of equal height to her boyfriend and the two of them shared a quick kiss.

"All right, I've gotta go now." Jasmine told him. "Good luck."

Jasmine got inside the limousine and it sped off shortly afterwards. Once the vehicle was gone, Chris walked up to the edge of the carpet.

"That's another contestant gone." Chris remarked. "Which one's gonna be the next unlucky duck? And what other movies can I make into challenges? Find out next time, on Total. Drama. Winners!"

* * *

 **Votes:**

Beth - Lightning

Jasmine - Jo

Jo - Jasmine

Lightning - Jasmine

Shawn - Jo

Sky - Jasmine

 **Results:**

Jasmine - 3 Votes

Jo - 2 Votes

Lightning - 1 Vote

 **Eliminated:**

Mike, the Nice Guy (18th Place)

Max, the Super Villain (17th Place)

Lindsay, the Dumb Princess (16th Place)

Geoff, the Funnest Guy Around (15th Place)

Sugar, the Pageant Queen (14th Place)

Jasmine, the Outback Survivalist (13th Place)

* * *

 **Well, that was the chapter. I've seen both versions of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but it's been a while so I can't really give an opinion. This challenge was actually a lot shorter than the previous one, which is actually a good thing because it gave me a chance to show some post-challenge character interactions. I was originally planning to eliminate Lightning at around this area, but I decided against it because he's fun to write. As for why I chose Jasmine, I didn't have too much to do with her, plus it'll be interesting to have a paranoid character like Shawn on his own. Also, a smaller reason is that I have no idea if I was doing all right at writing an Australian accent. Sugar's southern accent and Anne Maria's Jersey accent are easy, but at times I worried the way I wrote Jasmine sounded a little British. Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter. Thank you for reading.**


	9. Loonie Goonies

**And I'm back with another chapter. I really had a lot of fun writing this one and I hope you enjoy reading it too. As usual I have more to say at the end. So until then, please read the chapter.**

* * *

"Previously, on Total Drama Losers. I took the teams on a tour of a lovely candy factory owned by me." Footage of Chris leading the competitors down a hallway in the virtual factory played. "Not all of them made it through the whole tour, but it was the effort that counted." A clip of Lightning, Scott, and Owen all being eliminating from the challenge was seen. "In the end, after an out of control elevator ride, the Raving Writers won." A clip from the teams inside the rapidly moving glass elevator played next. "And since Jo was just sick and tired of her, she decided to get rid of Jasmine." Footage of Jasmine getting into the limousine after Shawn wished her goodbye was shown.

The footage changed to Chris walking down an alley in the film lot.

"Will Jo have a better hold on her team now?" Chris asked the audience. "Personally, I say it's doubtful. But you'll have to stick around and find out on, Total. Drama. Winners!"

* * *

 **(Theme Song)**

* * *

Early in the morning on the film lot, both teams were busy inside the canteen attempting to eat the gruel Chef called breakfast. The camera focused itself on the Angry Editors.

"This stuff actually tastes better than usual." Beth admitted as she chewed the greyish oatmeal in her bowl.

"Girl, Lightning thinks you're just goin' nuts." Lightning told her. "Tastes the same to me."

"No, I can taste it too." Sky commented. "It's a little bit like… Raisins."

"Can we stop talking about oatmeal?" Jo irritably asked her teammates. "We need to focus on not blowing the game again."

"Chill out, bro. We got this." Lightning told her. "We all bring somethin' to the table. For example, Shawn's got… Y'know Lightning don't know what he's got. But the point is- Hey, where's that weirdo anyway?"

The Editors looked around and noticed that Shawn was nowhere to be found.

"Oh, great, he's probably off in a hole somewhere hiding from zombies…" Jo muttered.

"I'm sure it'll be fine." Sky told her.

"Yeah, besides, his girlfriend was just eliminated." Beth added. "He probably just wants some alone time."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jo)**

"To be honest, I'm not that worried about Shawn." Jo remarked. "A paranoid lunatic on his own won't do much damage to me."

* * *

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm going on my morning jog now." Jo said.

"I'll come with you." Sky told her.

"Just what I wanted to hear." Jo replied. "Come on, let's go."

Jo and Sky stood up and walked away from their team.

The camera panned over to the Writers' table.

"What's this I'm tasting here…" Owen pondered as he ate. "Cinnamon? No, that's not right."

"I taste it too." Zoey remarked. "Feel like it's some kind of berry."

"Who cares about Chef's stupid oatmeal?" Scott asked.

"Jeez, what's with the mood, Scott?" Anne Maria asked.

"Eating a bland food at this early in the morning isn't good for me." Scott replied.

"Feel like it's that for everyone." Leshawna commented.

"Heh, if you're not eating it, I'll have it." Owen told her.

"No thanks, I'm keeping it." Scott told him. "I'm not through yet."

"So guys, what do you think our chances are in the next challenge?" Zoey asked.

"Pretty good I'd say." Harold told her.

"Yeah, it's what? Seven on our team, five on theirs?" Scott asked. "I think we've got this."

"I dunno, there's still always a chance." Leshawna remarked. "If we all get too cocky we could blow it."

"If it makes you feel any better, I'm nervous about losing." Dave told her.

"No actually, that doesn't seem like a helpful attitude." Leshawna replied.

"Oh…" Dave trailed off awkwardly. "Never mind."

"Meh, I'm sure this next challenge ain't gonna be that tough." Anne Maria said. "I mean, the last one was just a factory tour for cryin' out loud."

"Easy for you to say, I'm still having nightmares about that tunnel." Dave told her.

"Yeah, same here actually." Zoey admitted. "That place was weird."

"That's sure putting it lightly." Leshawna remarked.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm gonna go back to the trailer." Dave told his team.

"Me too." Scott added. "Maybe we can have a _chat_."

"Oh… Great." Dave uncomfortably replied.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Dave)**

"On one hand, it's a game changer that I found one of the invincibility statues." Dave remarked. "But on the other hand, Scott still wants in on it. Which is very annoying by the way."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Harold)**

"There is definitely something very suspicious going on with Dave and Scott." Harold told the audience. "I'm not quite sure what it is yet but I have my suspicions. I need to keep a closer watch on them."

* * *

Meanwhile, Jo and Sky were jogging through somewhere in the film lot.

"Ah, good to get that blood pumping." Jo remarked as she ran. "Don't you agree?"

"Yep, sure feels nice." Sky said.

"So Sky, just so that there's no confusion, we're working together now, right?" Jo asked.

"I guess so." Sky replied.

"What's the matter? Don't you _want_ to be on top of the game?" Jo asked her.

"It's just, I liked Jasmine." Sky told her. "I felt bad for voting her out."

"Winners don't play nice." Jo replied. "That's my motto."

"Hey, Jo, do you feel like you're being watched right now?" Sky asked.

"What do you mean?" Jo replied, slowing down.

"I don't know." Sky commented. "Sorta like there's just someone stalking us."

"Hang on, I think I know what's going on." Jo remarked.

Jo walked over to a cardboard box near the wall to a film lot and kicked it.

"Ow!" A male voice coming from the box screamed.

The box popped open and Shawn crawled out.

"What the heck was that about?" Shawn asked. "I was trying to sleep."

"Sorry." Sky apologized. "No offence, but you have a history of being creepy."

"Why were you even in there?" Jo questioned. "Don't you sleep in a tree?"

"The tree isn't safe anymore. You all knew where it was." Shawn explained. "So now, I sleep here. But I guess I have to move again now."

"Uh huh… We'll be going now." Sky told him.

"Yeah, we're moving to somewhere less weird." Jo added.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Shawn)**

"The way I see it, if Jasmine went down, I'm next." Shawn said. "Right now, my best bet is to get Beth and Lightning on my side. With how much time Sky's spending with Jo I'm not exactly sure I can trust her."

* * *

Meanwhile, Dave and Scott were in the boys' trailer together. Dave lay on his back on one of the bunk beds while Scott stood over him.

"So, Dave, have you given my offer any thought?" Scott asked.

"I have, and the answer is still no." Dave replied.

"Fine, I'll just tell everyone about that little idol you found." Scott said.

"What would that even do?" Dave asked. "They wouldn't care."

"Would they?" Scott tried to convince him. "Reality TV is pretty cutthroat."

"All right, I'm done here." Dave told Scott. "Go bug someone else."

Dave got up from the bed and walked towards the exit of the trailer.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Scott)**

"I don't think my strategy to get Dave on my side is working." Scott commented.

* * *

The camera cut to a close up of the film lot's speakers.

"Hey everyone, guess what time it is!" Chris cheered through the speakers. "Yep, challenge time! Get on down to studio eight."

After this announcement, the scene changed to a bit later where the teams arrived in the studio Chris and Chef were waiting.

"Good to see you all." Chris greeted. "Not really, I just say that for courtesy's sake."

"Y'know, every word out of your mouth makes me wanna throw something at you." Anne Maria remarked.

"Aw, gee, it's great to know how much you like me." Chris sarcastically replied.

"So what's today's challenge?" Owen asked. "Please tell me this one involves chocolate too."

"Unfortunately for you, it does not." Chris told him. "Tell me, any of you heard of 'The Goonies'?"

"What about it?" Shawn asked.

"That's what today's challenge is based on!" Chris announced. "One team will take the role of the film's protagonists while the other gets to be the main villains of the movie. This only really effects where you begin the challenge so don't worry. Anyway, the goal of the challenge is the find the pirate's treasure just like in the movie and get it out of the cave it's located in. Also, Raving Writers, since you won the last challenge you get to decide which role you want to have."

"What's the difference between the two starting positions?" Harold asked.

"Well, if you're playing as the kids from the movie you start in the attic with the treasure map." Chris began. "But if you choose to play as the mobsters, you start in the middle of a prison break."

"We choose the first one." Zoey stated.

A general murmur of agreement came from the rest of the team.

"Great, now that we have that sorted out, let's get in the machine." Chris told them.

The contestants sat down in the chairs and put the helmets over their heads. Chris pressed a few buttons on a panel.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Owen)**

"I thought I'd be pretty good at this challenge." Owen remarked. "I used to go out as one of the characters from this movie for Halloween when I was a kid. Yeah, my mom said I looked _just like_ Corey Feldman."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Beth)**

"I was a little worried about my chances." Beth admitted. "I'm not really cut out to be a gangster."

* * *

The scene faded in on the Writers who found themselves lying on the floor of a musty old attic. The members of the team slowly get up and look around.

"Hmm, this place ain't lookin' so good." Anne Maria commented.

"So, someone remind me, what are we looking for?" Dave asked.

"Probably a treasure map." Harold replied. "It should look old and it will probably be written in Spanish."

"Where would a treasure map be?" Zoey asked.

"Just look through all the boxes. It's gotta be in one of 'em." Leshawna told her team.

"That doesn't sound very efficient." Scott remarked.

"You got any better ideas?" Leshawna asked.

"Not really." Scott admitted.

"Then we'd better start diggin' through boxes." Leshawna said.

The members of the team split off to several different corners of the attic.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Zoey)**

"You know, I was hoping we'd be off to a more energized start." Zoey admitted.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Editors, minus Beth, had awoken in a car parked outside a police station.

"Hmm? Where are we?" Sky asked.

"And where's that nerdy lookin' girl?" Lightning added.

"Chris said we'd have to do a jail break, right?" Shawn asked. "I'm pretty sure _she's_ who we have to break out."

"Do we _have_ to break her out?" Jo asked.

Sky glared at Jo.

"Okay, fine, we'll break her out." Jo said.

"How are we 'sposed to do that?" Lightning asked.

"I don't know yet." Jo admitted. "What have we got to work with."

"Well, we have the four of us, the car… Hmm…. There's gotta be more…" Shawn trailed off looking around the car.

"What's this stuff?" Lightning asked, noticing several gas containers by his feet.

"Pretty sure that's gasoline." Sky told him.

"Gasoline blows up when ya set it on fire, right?" Lightning asked. "Lightning wants to try that, but he's also kinda scared."

"All right everyone, now I have a plan." Jo stated.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jo)**

"Now that there's no Jasmine, there's less people to question my leadership." Jo stated. "And with Sky being on my side, I'm pretty much in charge of this team now."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sky)**

"Do I like Jo? As a person… Meh… She could improve. But as a player, she's doing pretty well for herself actually." Sky said. "I still don't really consider us to be in an alliance though. Not yet anyway."

* * *

Back in the attic, the Editors were busy searching through old boxes.

"Ooh, look at this." Owen remarked.

"You found the map?" Dave asked.

"Oh, no, but I found a cool necktie." Owen replied, holding up a brightly coloured necktie with a pattern of flamingos on it. "My uncle has one just like this."

"Can you please focus?" Harold asked him.

"Oh, sorry." Owen apologized. "Back to work."

The team went back to rummaging through various boxes.

"Y'know, I'm thinkin'… Maybe there ain't any treasure map up here." Anne Maria remarked. "Chris could just be messin' with our brains."

"But how would we be able to find any treasure without the map?" Zoey pointed out. "That just makes no sense."

"I dunno, I'm just not feelin' it." Anne Maria said. "I think I'm gonna take a break."

"Seriously?" Zoey asked.

"Sorry, but sometimes, a girl's gotta take a break." Anne Maria replied.

Anne Maria walked away from the bin she was searching in and sat down in a nearby chair.

"You seriously can't be giving up." Leshawna remarked.

"I'm not givin' up." Anne Maria insisted. "I'm just havin' some 'Me Time' right now."

Leshawna rolled her eyes and went back to searching through her box. Anne Maria leaned back in her chair.

"Y'know… This is a pretty comfy chair." Anne Maria remarked.

Anne Maria leaned back a bit further. This proved to be a bit too far when the chair toppled over backwards into a stack of boxes. The boxes went scatted everywhere, dumping their contents.

"I feel like this is karma somehow…" Anne Maria grumbled.

She stood up and looked around and saw a wooden crate that was revealed when the boxes fell.

"What the heck is that?" Anne Maria wondered. "Smells kinda salty."

"Salty? As in sea salt?" Harold asked. "That could be what we're looking for."

"Let's check it out." Scott suggested.

The Writers gathered around the crate.

"Who wants to open it?" Dave asked.

"I mean, I technically found it." Anne Maria pointed out." I feel like I should get the honours."

"Just hurry up and open it." Scott told her.

"Jeez, fine." Anne Maria said. "Here goes nothing."

Anne Maria removed the lid from the crate to reveal a dusty old rolled up scroll inside of it.

"Yep… Looks like a treasure map to me." Owen remarked.

"Let me look at it." Harold requested.

Harold picked up the scroll and unrolled it.

"Well… This is amazing." Harold remarked. "Come on, we need to follow the clues."

"Woohoo! This is so awesome!" Owen cheered.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Anne Maria)**

"Not to brag, but I totally helped my team out a ton back there." Anne Maria said. "Even if I was tryin' to slack off at the time…"

* * *

 **(Confessional: Scott)**

"I have no idea how Anne Maria actually _helped_. But I'll take what I can get." Scott remarked. "Maybe I won't vote for her if we lose after all."

* * *

Meanwhile, inside the local virtual police station, Beth was inside of a holding cell.

"Hello… Is the rest of my team anywhere?" Beth asked. "Anyone? It's really cold in this cell."

A police officer approaches the cell.

"Ma'am, I'm gonna have to ask you to stop complaining." The officer told her. "You're starting to annoy the other officers."

"Whatever I did I swear I'm innocent." Beth said. "Does this look like the face of a criminal?"

"I don't want to answer that, ma'am." The policeman replied.

The policeman walked away from the holding cell.

"I wonder if my team's gonna even try to go get me?" Beth pondered. "Probably not..."

Beth let out a long sigh. There was a silence while Beth just stood by the bars to the cell. Suddenly, something caused the wall behind her to collapse the kick up a bunch of dust. Once the dust cleared it reveal that the rest of the team had rammed the car straight therough the wall.

"Never mind! They are!" Beth screamed in a panic.

Lightning got out of the car.

"C'mon girl, we're bustin' you outta here!" Lightning announced.

"I figured." Beth replied.

Lightning led Beth into the car and they began to drive off. Police began to exit the station and head towards the cars.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Lightning)**

"Doin' a jailbreak was pretty fun." Lightning commented. "If Lightning's sports career don't work out, there's always crime... No wait, that sounded like a better idea in Lightning's head."

* * *

"Shawn! Do your bit!" Jo yelled at him.

"Oh, right." Shawn replied.

Shawn rolled down the window to the car as he lit a match. He tossed the match out the window which landed on a trail of gasoline outside the station, creating a ring of fire to keep the policemen from escaping.

"Where are we going now?" Beth asked.

"Don't worry, I found a map in the glove compartment." Sky explained. "I think it leads to our hideout."

"I should've just stayed in jail…" Beth trailed off.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Beth)**

"Being on the mobster team was not very fun." Beth commented. "Probably coulda seen that coming."

* * *

Meanwhile, the Writers had just exited the house they had started in.

"All right Harold, what's the map say?" Leshawna asked.

"It says it's buried deep underground near the shore." Harold stated. "If it's anything like the movie it should be in a big cave."

"Woohoo! I'm so psyched! This is gonna be awesome!" Owen enthusiastically cheered.

Suddenly, a black car followed by several police cars sped by the house.

"Whoa!" Zoey exclaimed. "What was that?"

"If I had to guess, I'd say the other team." Scott remarked. "They are supposed to be gangsters."

"Let's hope we don't have to interact with them too much." Dave said. "Come on, let's get out of here. Anyone know how to drive?"

"I can do it." Leshawna offered.

"Great, let's go." Scott replied.

The Writers got into a car in the driveway of the house they were previously in with Leshawna in the front seat and Harold in the passenger seat.

"All right, let's go!" Owen cheered.

"Jeez, tone it down a little." Anne Maria told him.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Owen)**

"I was really happy about this challenge." Owen told the audience. "The Goonies is one of my favourite movies. I hope I didn't act weird or anything… Nah, I'm sure it was fine."

* * *

Meanwhile, the Editors had lost the police and were slowly driving down a dirt road through the woods.

"Wow… I am not used to high speed chases like that." Sky commented.

"Most people aren't." Shawn pointed out.

"It really gets your adrenaline pumping." Sky remarked.

"Sky, you have the map." Jo reminded her. "Where's the hideout?"

"Oh, right. I almost forgot." Sky admitted. "We should be coming up on it soon."

"It's cramped back here, man." Lightning told Jo. "Hurry it up."

"Still not a man…" Jo grumpily mumbled to herself.

After a few moments of quiet driving the Editors parked at an abandoned building by the shore. There was a sign on the building reading "Simon's Seafood Shack".

"What is this place?" Beth asked.

"Looks like a closed down restaurant." Jo remarked.

"Well, we'd better get inside and figure out where the treasure is." Shawn suggested.

"Sounds like a plan." Lightning agreed.

The Editors got out of their car and entered the decrepit restaurant.

"Wow… This place has probably seen better days." Beth remarked.

"So what do we do from here?" Shawn asked.

"Well, first we figure out where the best place to find the treasure is." Jo explained.

"Hmm… If I remember correctly, the entrance to the cave of treasure was under the villain's hideout." Shawn remarked.

"Chris wouldn't be that predictable. Would he?" Sky wondered.

"Here's the plan: We split up." Jo told her team. "Me and Sky check outside for anywhere that could lead us to some sort of cave. Shawn and Lightning will search this place's basement."

"What about me?" Beth asked.

"You stand guard outside and make sure the other team doesn't get in here." Jo answered. "They probably won't find us, but if they do, we want to be safe."

"Should I give some sort of signal?" Beth asked.

"Good idea." Jo told her. "Don't make it anything too conspicuous. Do you know any animal calls?"

"I can do a crow moderately well." Beth replied.

"Good enough." Jo remarked. "All right team, let's move."

With that, the Editors split off. Shawn and Lightning headed towards the basement while Beth, Jo, and Sky went outside.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Shawn)**

"Wow, that was the most leader-y I've seen Jo be." Shawn remarked. "If she was like that all the time I wouldn't complain so much… Of course… It could be a trick to get me to put my guard down. I can never be too careful."

* * *

Meanwhile, the Writers were driving down the road with Harold holding the map.

"Are we getting anywhere?" Zoey asked.

"I believe so." Harold replied.

"Y'know… There ain't that much room back here…" Anne Maria pointed out to duo on the front seat.

"Yeah, I'm feeling a little squished." Scott pointed out. "Can we pull over soon?"

"Sorry guys, I didn't realize I'd take up so much space." Owen apologized.

"I'll pull over if there's a chance." Leshawna told her team. "Right now, I wanna focus on the road."

"Y'know, it's funny that you should say that 'cause I feel like we should probably park soon." Harold remarked.

"Why?" Leshawna asked.

"Well, this map leads us off road and this doesn't look like the kind of car that can handle anything like that." Harold explained.

"I'll take it as long as we can get out from back here." Dave stated.

"So you want me to pull over now?" Leshawna asked.

"I think now seems like a good time." Harold agreed.

Leshawna complied and pulled over on the side of the road, the car coming to a complete halt.

"All right, everyone out." Leshawna told her team.

"Thank god…." Scott grumpily mumbled. "I think my leg's half asleep."

All the writers got out of the car together.

"Ah, now I feel refreshed." Zoey remarked.

"So now where to?" Owen asked.

"Well, this map looks like it's leading us to somewhere near the ocean." Harold replied. "So, let's first find a path in the forest and then find a way to follow that to the ocean. And according to the map, there's a small path coming up."

"Well, I guess that works." Dave commented. "All right, let's go."

The Writers began walk along the side of the road. After a short time, they found the small path Harold was referring to.

"Hey… I think I see tire tracks." Scott noticed, pointing to the tracks of car tires in the dirt of the path.

"You don't think that other team already went this way, do you?" Zoey asked.

"They could've." Anne Maria remarked. "If they did we'd better hurry."

"Agreed. C'mon, everyone, let's move." Leshawna said.

The team quickly began walking down the path.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Harold)**

"I knew that the other team was probably ahead of us judging from those tire tracks." Harold stated. "But I wasn't panicking. We had the map, and they didn't… At least I think they didn't."

* * *

Meanwhile, inside the abandoned basement of the abandoned restaurant, Lightning and Shawn were busy searching for an entrance to a cave.

"See anything yet?" Lightning asked.

"Nothing." Shawn replied. "I just can't remember where it was in the movie."

"It's gotta be in here somewhere. Lighting wishes he knew where." Lightning said.

The two of them continued cleaning in silence for a few more moments.

"We should team up." Lightning broke the silence.

"I'm sorry, what?" Shawn confusedly replied.

"You heard Lightning. We'd be a good team." Lightning repeated himself. "Lighting doesn't have a partner in this game. He tried askin' Beth, but Lightning don't think she got the right message."

"So wait, what are you asking?" Shawn asked.

"What part of 'We should team up'. Ain't clear to you?" Lighting responded. "We, meaning you and Lightning, should team up, meaning we work together in a mutually beneficial way."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Shawn)**

"Okay, first Jo said something without insulting anyone, and then Lightning used _multiple_ words with more than three syllables." Shawn told the audience. "Is it opposite day or something? Should I go hug a zombie?"

* * *

"Huh… I dunno." Shawn replied to Lightning. "No offence, but I don't really trust anyone after what happened with Jasmine."

"It's cool, bro." Lightning said. "But don't forget Lighting's offer. It's still up in the air."

Meanwhile, along the shoreline near the restaurant, Sky and Jo walked along the beach.

"See anything that looks like it leads into a cave?" Sky asked.

"Hmm, nope. Not yet." Jo replied.

"So, do you think we'll lose again?" Sky inquired.

"I'd rather not think about it." Jo told Sky. "But I really think we've got a good chance this time. I don't think I really remember the Goonies, but a treasure hunt can't be that hard. I haven't even heard from the other team yet."

"Caw-caw!" The sound of someone badly impersonating a bird faintly sounded in the distance.

"Uh oh, that's Beth. That means someone's coming." Jo said. "Quick, let's tail whoever it is. See if they lead us to the treasure."

Sky nodded.

Meanwhile, the Writers were walking through a field towards the abandoned restaurant the opposing team was hiding out inside of.

"Is that creepy looking house the place?" Zoey asked.

"Looks like it." Harold replied, eyes still glued to the map. "We'll want to be careful. In the movie, the antagonists hid out in a building like that."

"I'm sure they haven't found this place yet." Dave said. "They couldn't be that ahead of us, right?"

"Caw-caw!" The bad bird call rang out coming from the abandoned restaurant again.

"Did you hear that?" Scott asked. "What the heck was that?"

"Yeah, I heard it earlier too." Zoey added. "It kinda sounded like a person."

"Hmm… It's probably someone on the other team." Leshawna remarked. "C'mon, we should probably check it out."

"Do we have to, you saying that makes me nervous." Dave said.

"Don't worry, it'll be fine." Scott told him. "Probably."

"Please don't add words like 'Probably' when you're trying to make me feel better." Dave requested.

"C'mon guys, let's go check it out." Owen urged his teammates. "This is gonna be so fun!"

* * *

 **(Confessional: Dave)**

"It's not that Owen's enthusiasm wasn't appreciated." Dave began. "But… It got a little annoying. Plus I worried about him giving our position away to the other team."

* * *

Meanwhile, back in the basement of the abandoned restaurant, Lightning and Shawn continued to move around various boxes and pieces of debris.

"Man, we ain't finding anything." Lightning complained. "Lighting wants to take a break."

"We can't stop now." Shawn told him. "We've gotta be getting close."

"Caw-caw!" The boys heard Beth call out from the outside.

"You hear that?" Lightning asked. "Sounds like Beth."

"That's the signal." Shawn remarked. "Quick, someone's coming. We'd better hide."

"Where should we go?" Lightning questioned.

"I don't know. C'mon, let's figure something out." Shawn replied.

Back above, Beth stood on the front of the restaurant.

"Should I do my bird call again?" Beth pondered. "Did they hear me? Did the other team hear me? I should probably hide."

Beth looked around and saw an unplugged ice cream cooler. She quickly opened up the cooler and hid herself inside.

The camera focused itself on the Writers as they quickly approached the restaurant.

"You sure 'bout this place?" Anne Maria asked.

"Of course I am." Harold replied. "Says so right on the map."

"Doesn't look like pirates built this place." Anne Maria remarked.

"Gosh, the pirates didn't build this." Harold told her. "It was built over something like an underground cave or tunnelling system."

"Makes sense." Zoey commented.

The team made it to the door and Leshawna reached for the doorknob. Before turning it, she looks back at her team.

"Is this safe?" Leshawna asked. "'Cause this don't look safe."

"It'll be fine." Harold tried to reassure her.

"If you say so." Leshawna replied. "Not sure if I believe you…"

Leshawna opened the door and the team entered the abandoned restaurant.

"This place does _not_ look pirate-y at all." Scott remarked.

"Pretty sure it was like this in the movie." Owen commented.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Zoey)**

"Yeah… That place was pretty suspicious." Zoey remarked. "Not really getting the pirate theme yet. But it did make me hungry for seafood."

* * *

Back outside, Beth lay in the cooler she was hiding in.

"I wonder if they're gone…" Beth cautiously whispered to herself. "I'd better check..."

Beth carefully slid open the cooler from the inside. She stuck her head out and looked around.

"Hmmm… Nobody here." Beth observed. "Maybe they walked past this place."

"Do you hear something?" Zoey asked from the inside.

Upon hearing this, Beth quickly clasped her hands over her mouth.

"I need to do something…" Beth muttered, even quieter than before. "Think… Think…"

Beth's face lit up with excitement. She quickly climbed the entire way out of the cooler and went over to the door. Beth slammed the door shut on the team inside.

"Hey! What happened!" Dave shouted from the inside.

Before anyone from the Writers could reach the door, Beth pushed the emptied and unplugged cooler in front of the door. Pounding on the door sounded out from the inside.

"Who's out there?! Show yourself!" Scott demanded.

"I'm really sorry about this!" Beth apologized. "I just don't wanna lose again. Hmm… Now what? Oh, I should tell Jo and Sky."

Beth ran off towards the beach.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Beth)**

"That was probably the most evil thing I've ever done." Beth admitted. "I just really wanted to win. I can apologize to the other team later anyway."

* * *

Back on the inside of the abandoned restaurant, the Writers were trying to figure out what to do.

"So… Now what?" Owen asked.

"We could break out through the window." Scott suggested.

"Too risky." Harold replied. "They're probably stuck shut by now and if we break through the class we could cut ourselves. Besides, the map led us to this house anyway."

"So where should we go in that case?" Anne Maria asked.

"Down." Harold told her. "Come on, to the basement!"

"Sheesh, don't be so dramatic." Anne Maria replied.

The team began moving towards the back room of the restaurant.

Meanwhile, back by the beach, Jo and Sky were walking back in the direction of the restaurant.

"I sure hope nothing bad happened." Sky remarked.

"Ugh, I knew we shouldn't have put Beth on guard duty…" Jo grumbled.

Just then, Sky and Jo noticed Beth running towards them.

"Guys! Guys!" Beth called from the distance. "I have great news!"

Beth made it over to the other two.

"Good news guys. I trapped the other team in the house." Beth informed her teammates.

"You did?" Sky asked. "Wait, aren't Lightning and Shawn still in there?"

Upon this sudden realization, Beth facepalmed.

"Quick, let's get back in there." Jo told her team.

Meanwhile, in the basement of the restaurant, Shawn and Lightning are crammed into a broom closet together.

"Man… This is uncomfortable…" Lightning whispered.

"Shh!" Shawn shushed him.

"Maybe they ain't comin' down here." Lightning suggested.

Second after he said that, the sound of footsteps was heard outside the door.

"Oh…" Lightning quietly trailed off. "Never mind. Hmmm… Maybe we should ambush them?"

"Are you crazy?" Shawn asked. "The other team has the two of us outnumbered."

"Good point." Lightning admitted.

The scene shifted to the outside of the closet, where the Writers were searching the basement.

"So where should we look?" Dave asked.

"Everywhere." Harold replied.

"That's incredibly vague." Dave pointed out.

"It's the best I can do." Harold told him.

The members of the Writers split off to several corners of the room. Owen noticed a metal door in the wall.

"Ooh… This looks interesting." Owen remarked. "It feels kinda cold too."

Owen turned the handle and opened the metal door to reveal a freezer. He entered the freezer and saw a tub of ice cream on a rack.

"Wow, this place has ice cream too." Owen remarked. "Awesome!"

Over in another part of the room, Scott approached a fireplace.

"Hmm… Maybe there's something in here." Scott commented.

Scott removed the burnt up logs from the fireplace leaving only the metal log holder.

"No… Nothing yet…" Scott muttered. "Hmm…"

After a few moments of thinking, Scott pulled the log holder out of the way revealing a grate below it.

"Hmm..." Scott trailed off.

Scott grabbed a small piece of chipped off stone from the wall and dropped it through the grate. For a long time, there was a silence until a very feint 'Thud' noise was heard at the bottom.

"Okay, now we're getting somewhere." Scott remarked.

He pulled on the grate until it came off to reveal a downwards tunnel with a rickety wooden ladder.

"Hey guys! I found something!" Scott yelled over to his team.

The other members of the Editors walked up to the fireplace.

"What is it?" Zoey asked.

"I think I found just what we're looking for." Scott stated.

"Great work." Harold told him.

"Are we really gonna go down there?" Dave asked. "It doesn't look safe."

"Well, it's our only choice." Leshawna told him. "We're locked in, and we don't want the other team to get us."

"If you say so." Dave replied.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Scott)**

"Not to brag, but I was pretty great back there." Scott boasted. "Maybe that'll make up for what I did in the first challenge."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Leshawna)**

"I'm surprised Scott actually helped us move forward." Leshawna admitted. "'Course, he might've just done it make us put our guard down… Nah, maybe I should give him the benefit of the doubt."

* * *

"Someone should probably stand guard up here." Harold remarked.

"Any takers?" Leshawna asked.

"Ooh! I'll do it." Owen volunteered. "And it's not just to be with the ice cream. I swear."

"Good enough for me." Dave remarked.

"All right Owen, stay up here and make sure the other team doesn't get in." Leshawna instructed him. "Probably for the best anyway. I'm not even sure if you could fit down the hole. No offence."

"None taken." Owen replied.

The Writers, minus Owen, began carefully climbing down the tunnel. Once the other members were in. Owen put the grate and log holder back on top.

Meanwhile, back outside, Beth, Jo, and Sky were busy pushing the cooler in front of the door out of the way.

"You think Shawn and Lightning are okay?" Beth asked.

"Well, either they're in hiding or… The other team locked them up somewhere." Sky replied.

The trio pushed the cooler completely out of the way.

"All right, let's get in there." Jo told the other two.

The three of them entered the house.

"Hello! Anybody in here!" Beth shouted.

"Shh!" Jo sushed her. "Do you _want_ to give away our position?"

Meanwhile, back in the basement, Owen was sitting down at a chair near the fireplace.

"Hmm… I wonder when the rest of my team will get back?" Owen commented.

"All right guys, let's be quiet." Owen overheard Sky say from upstairs.

"Uh oh… I'd better hide…" Owen muttered to himself.

He got up from his chair and ran over to the freezer and closed the door behind him.

The camera focused on Beth, Jo, and Sky descending from the stairs.

"That's weird… It's completely empty down here." Beth remarked. "Kinda eerie."

"Anyone down here!" Sky called out.

Just then, the door to a nearby closet opened and Lightning and Shawn stepped out.

"Huh? What are you doing in there?" Jo asked.

"The other team came down here, man." Lightning explained. "We had to hide."

"Wait, if the other team was down here, where'd they go?" Beth questioned.

"Well, from what we heard in the closet, it sounded like they found some sort of passageway down here." Shawn explained.

"If they left, why were you still in there?" Jo pointed out.

"They got the fat guy to be a guard." Lightning explained.

"Wait, so he's still down there?" Sky asked.

"Yeah, but he's probably hiding now." Shawn replied.

"Wait… So we could find him… And he could tell us where his team went." Jo put the pieces together. "Quick! We need to find him. Did you hear any clues?"

"Lightning heard a door slam." Lightning told her.

"Hmm… All right, let's find any door down here." Jo told her team.

"That looks like a door." Beth remarked, pointing to the freezer door.

"Let's check it out." Sky said.

The team approached the metal door and Shawn turned the handle. The door opened to reveal Owen cowering in the corner of the freezer.

"I'm not in here!" Owen screamed in a panic.

"You guys thinking what I'm thinking?" Jo asked her teammates.

"Probably not." Sky replied. "What is it?"

"Interrogation." Jo answered.

"Eep!" Owen yelped.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jo)**

"That sounded less violent when I thought it out in my head." Jo admitted.

* * *

Meanwhile, deep below ground, the Writers were walking through the tunnels together.

"Do we even know where we're goin'?" Anne Maria asked. "Maybe this ain't some pirate cave."

"It has to be." Harold told her. "It's what the map says."

"A lot can change in, what, a hundred years? Maybe that map leads to somewhere that isn't around anymore." Dave suggested.

"Well, we're already down here." Leshawna pointed out. "Might as well keep on goin'."

The teammates kept walking until they encountered a section of the cave with metal pipes going through the ceiling.

"Huh? What's with that?" Zoey asked.

"Don't worry, this is good." Harold told her. "There was a room like this in the movie."

"Where do the pipes go in that case?" Zoey continued asking.

"Probably a country club if I remember correctly." Harold replied. "But there's no way to contact them. For now, we'll just take it as a sign of going the right way."

The team continued walking through the cave.

Meanwhile, back above ground, the Editors had tied Owen to a chair in the basement.

"Please untie me!" Owen begged. "I'll tell you whatever you want."

"Where did the rest of your team go?" Jo asked.

"Oh, there's a hidden passage under the fireplace." Owen explained, suddenly sounding calm.

"Wait, really? You're gonna tell us? Just like that?" Shawn asked.

"Yep." Owen replied.

"Hmmm… It could be a trap." Sky pointed out.

"Good point." Jo said. "All right, four of us go down there. One of us stands watch to make sure Owen doesn't escape. I volunteer Beth for watchman duty."

"Hey!" Beth exclaimed. "I was already a watcher. You can't make me do all the boring work."

"Look Beth, I don't wanna offend you… But you're… Not as good as the rest of us." Jo told her.

"I'll never get better if you don't give me a chance." Beth argued.

"Fine, you can come with us." Jo decided before turning to Lightning. "You, stand guard."

"You got it, man." Lightning replied.

"I'm not even going to bother correcting you." Jo mumbled to herself.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Beth)**

"I'm surprised Jo let me go down there." Beth remarked. "Maybe she isn't _that_ bad after all. I mean, she is still pretty bad. But it was still pretty nice of her."

* * *

Meanwhile, the Writers were continuing to walk through the underground cave.

"I feel like we're going the wrong way." Zoey commented.

"Well, there haven't been any turns in the road yet." Harold replied. "So that means we're going the right way."

"Maybe Chris was trying to mislead us with the map." Dave suggested.

"Nonsense. If a map is in an attic inside a mysterious chest, it leads to treasure." Harold argued.

"Makes sense, I guess." Zoey replied.

The Writers continued down the underground path for a bit more until they came to a dead end.

"What the- What kinda joke is this!?" Anne Maria angrily exclaimed. "You can't follow a treasure map to a wall! That just ain't fair."

"Calm down, Anne." Zoey told her.

"I ain't gonna be calm! This is frustrating!" Anne Maria yelled. "Okay!"

In her anger, Anne Maria stomped down on the ground. This caused the ground to begin shaking beneath the feet of the team.

"Uh oh… That can't be good." Dave commented.

The Writers, with the exception of Anne Maria, backed away from the dead end.

"Oh boy… This is gonna hurt…" Anne Maria nervously muttered, frozen in fear.

The rocky ground beneath Anne Maria gave way and she began to fall down a large rocky pit. Before she hit the bottom of the shaft she grabbed on to a piece of rock protruding from the side of the pit. There was a long pause as Anne Maria heavily panted after the near virtual-death experience.

"I'm okay!" Anne Maria shouted up to her team. "I think I found where we're 'sposed to go next! It's a bit of a long drop though! Might wanna be careful gettin' down!"

Meanwhile, the Editors, except Lightning, were walking through the caves together.

"How far ahead do you think the other team is?" Beth wondered.

"It's best not to think about it." Sky told her.

"Agreed." Jo said. "The more you think about it, the more it throws of your concentration."

"Hey, if we get lost do we have any landmarks to follow?" Shawn asked.

"Well, we passed by a bunch of pipes." Sky remembered. "But other than that… I don't think we saw too much noticeable."

"What about a giant hole in the ground?" Beth asked.

"Yeah, I guess that would be pretty noticeable." Sky commented.

"No, I mean there's one right here." Beth told her.

Sky looked away from Beth and saw the hole that the other team had made earlier.

"Oh…" Sky trailed off. "How did I not notice that?"

"We don't have to go down there… Do we?" Shawn asked.

"Looks like we do." Jo replied. "Who wants to go first?"

Nobody said anything.

"All right… I'll go." Jo stated. "The other team had better be getting stalled right now."

Meanwhile, back in the basement, Lightning and Owen, still tied to the chair, were together.

"So… Have anything you wanna talk about?" Owen asked.

"Nah. Besides, Lightning don't want no distractions." Lightning replied. "Can't have you escapin'."

"Yep… That'd be pretty bad." Owen nervously said. "Uh, hey, is that a diversion over there?"

"A diversion? Where?" Lightning asked, looking behind him.

While Lightning was distracted, Owen leaned over backwards in his chair. The chair fell over completely and shattered to bits.

"Woohoo! I'm free!" Owen cheered.

"Sha-what?!" Lightning exclaimed.

Owen ran over to the passage in the fireplace and tried to fit down only to get stuck halfway in.

"Aw man… I forgot about my body fat." Owen sighed.

"Ha! Now Lightning's gotcha!" Lightning cheered.

Lightning jumped into the air and slammed into Owen in an attempt to capture him. This achieved the opposite effect when it pushed him down the hidden tunnel.

"Woo! I did it!" Owen cheered from underground.

"Dang it!" Lightning exclaimed. "Jo's gonna be real miffed 'bout that. Now Lightning's gotta chase the fat dude."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Lightning)**

"The worst part 'bout that was Lightning had to come up with a good excuse for why Owen escaped." Lightning stated.

* * *

Meanwhile, deeper underground, the Writers had come across a waterfall in the middle of the tunnel with a thin log being the only thing to bridge the gap.

"So… How do we cross?" Scott asked.

"I guess we just walk." Leshawna told him. "How 'bout we go two at a time to speed things up."

"Oh… Great…" Dave muttered.

"Me and Dave will go first." Scott stated.

"We will?" Dave asked. "Oh, all right."

Dave and Scott very slowly began crossing the soaked log.

"Easy… Easy…" Dave mumbled.

"Oh, don't be such a baby." Scott told him.

"I don't want to die in here." Dave replied.

"We're already on the other side." Scott stated.

Dave looked down and saw that his feet were wet, but they had already made it to the other side.

"Oh… Well, that's a relief." Dave remarked.

"I'll go next." Zoey decided. "Anyone wanna come?"

"Sure, I don't mind." Anne Maria said.

The duo began to carefully walk across the log.

"I'm already regrettin' this…" Anne Maria admitted.

Anne Maria's foot nearly slid off the log causing her to grab on to Zoey for support.

"Careful!" Zoey exclaimed.

"Hey! I don't wanna die!" Anne Maria told her.

The two of them carefully made it to the other side.

"Phew…" Zoey sighed. "That was close."

"All right, just the two of us now." Harold told Leshawna.

Leshawna nodded and the two of them began crossing the log.

"If we die here, I ain't gonna be happy." Leshawna remarked as she carefully stepped across.

"Hold it right there!" A female voice exclaimed from out of view.

The team turned around and saw that the Editors had caught up.

"What the- How'd you get down here?" Scott asked.

"Your guard didn't put up too much of a fight." Jo explained.

"Dang it!" Scott exclaimed. "I knew we should've got someone else to do it."

"Quick, we'd better get to the other side." Harold told Leshawna.

The two of them began moving slightly faster across the log.

"What's the plan, Jo?" Sky asked.

"Get rid of the log." Jo told her team. "That'll slow them down."

"If you say so." Shawn replied. "Wait, won't that just slow _us_ down too?"

"You're right." Jo realized. "Okay, new plan: We just start crossing."

"Guess that works." Sky remarked.

The Editors began walking across the log which began to buckle under the weight of all the people on it.

"This is not gonna end well…" Leshawna muttered.

Leshawna and Harold quickly made it off the log.

"Quick! Let's push the log down now." Scott suggested.

"That's a horrible thing to do!" Zoey exclaimed.

"We don't have time for this." Harold told them. "Let's just run and hope they can't find us."

The rest of the team nodded in agreement. After that, the Writers dashed off further down the passage.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Harold)**

"Admittedly, that was not my smartest plan." Harold remarked.

* * *

The scene shifted to moments later with the Writers running through the tunnels.

"Have we lost them yet?" Zoey asked.

"Even if we have, we shouldn't stop running." Harold told her. "We need to find that treasure if we want to win."

"Where is this treasure 'sposed to be hidden anyway?" Scott wondered.

"Probably inside a pirate ship." Harold replied.

"Like that one?" Dave asked, pointing ahead.

Harold looked away from Scott and saw that the tunnel widened into a cavern containing an underwater lake. Docked in the lake was a dilapidated pirate ship.

"Yep… That's the one." Harold remarked.

"So, how do we get in?" Anne Maria questioned.

"There's gotta be some kind of opening." Scott theorized. "Let's get a closer look."

The team followed a path of increasingly thin rock down towards the water near the bottom of the pirate ship.

"How are we 'sposed to get up?" Leshawna pointed out.

Dave noticed a poorly maintained rope ladder dangling down from the side of the boat.

"What about that?" Dave asked, pointing up at the ladder.

"That'll do." Leshawna remarked.

"All right, let's get to that treasure." Scott proclaimed. "I wanna win this."

Scott grabbed on to the old ladder and began climbing up.

"Be careful!" Harold called up to him. "That ladder doesn't look very stable."

"I know what I'm doing!" Scott yelled back down.

Meanwhile, the Editors were running through the tunnel.

"C'mon everyone! Let's hustle!" Jo ordered her team. "We don't know how far ahead the others have gotten!"

"I'm going as fast as my legs can carry me!" Beth shouted back.

"Well, your legs aren't very fast." Jo told her.

"Jo, maybe you should say something more encouraging." Sky suggested.

"Yeah, It'd make us… You know, actually want to do our jobs." Shawn added.

"Fine." Jo replied, turning to Beth. "Uh, hey, pal. Keep up the good work. Teamwork… And stuff."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Beth)**

"Ugh…" Beth shuddered. "Something about the way she said that felt so unnatural."

* * *

The Editors found the underground lake with the pirate ship that the other team had made it to.

"Wow… Now _that_ is impressive." Shawn remarked.

"Hey, where's the other team?" Sky wondered.

Beth looked up and saw a figure up in the boat.

"That looks like them." Beth said, pointing up.

"Quick, let's get up there." Jo instructed her team. "We _can not_ lose again."

"In that case, we'd better hurry." Sky replied.

The Editors began running down the thin rock path towards the ladder the other team had previously climbed up.

"Is that thing safe to climb?" Beth questioned, noticing the shoddy quality of the ladder.

"No time to question it." Jo replied. "Just get up there: Now!"

Meanwhile, on the deck of the ship, the Writers were poking around for the treasure.

"Do you guys hear something?" Zoey asked, the words of the opposing team being barely audible to her.

"I don't think so." Leshawna replied. "It's probably just in your head. C'mon, let's just keep lookin' around."

"All right." Zoey said.

"I'm gonna check by the helm." Harold informed his team. "There may be something of use up there."

Harold made is way up to the helm of the ship.

"Hmm… Nothing looks suspicious." Harold remarked. "Maybe I should-"

Harold was cut off when the decaying wood beneath him cave way, causing him to fall down a floor.

"Gosh! I was not expecting that!" Harold yelled from the below deck.

"Should we go down there?" Dave asked.

"Yes actually." Harold replied. "I think I found something! Uh, don't go the way I did though."

The Writers made their way to a trapdoor in the ship and opened it up. They climbed down into the lower deck where they saw Harold lying in a pile of wood. Leshawna approached him and helped Harold up.

"So what was it you saw?" Leshawna asked

"That." Harold replied as he pointed down at a trail of gold coins leading into another room.

"Yep, that does look like a _pretty_ big clue." Scott agreed.

"Then what are we waitin' for?" Anne Maria asked. "Let's follow it."

The Editors followed the trail of gold into the next room and down a set of stairs. Eventually, they found that the trail led to a room with a large table in the centre of it. On the table were large piles of gold, jewels, and other riches. The table also had a crew of skeletal pirates sitting around it.

"Ah!" Dave screamed upon seeing the deceased pirates. "Get it away!"

"Wait, how did they all die sitting around this table?" Zoey wondered. "That doesn't make sense."

"Who cares, we got the treasure." Scott said.

"And you led us right to it." A familiar female voice from behind the Writers replied.

The Writers turned around and saw the opposing team.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Zoey)**

"You know, I was really hoping it would be that easy." Zoey remarked. "Apparently not."

* * *

"All right, hand over the treasure." Jo demanded.

"What makes you think we'll just give it to you?" Leshawna asked.

"You know, we are supposed to be in the mafia." Jo told the other team. "And you know what that means: We have guns."

"Wait, we what?" Beth asked Jo.

Jo stomped on Beth's foot.

"Ow!" Beth yelled.

"Uh, just check your back pocket." Jo told Beth.

"You don't have any guns, do you?" Dave asked.

"No we don't." Jo admitted. "But we're still not letting you get away with _our_ treasure!"

"All right everyone, here's the plan." Harold told his team. "We get as much treasure as we can and get out of here."

"What he just said!" Jo ordered her team.

All the contestants began grabbing as many valuables as they could from the table.

"Hey, so, how exactly are we 'sposed to escape from here?" Anne Maria asked while shoving coins and jewels into her pockets.

"We'll figure something out." Scott told her.

"All right team, we have enough!" Jo announced to her teammates. "Let's get the hell out of here!"

"If you say so." Shawn replied.

The Editors ran out of the room and towards the upper deck of the ship.

"What's the plan from here?" Sky asked.

"We'll figure it out once we're above." Jo told her.

The team reached the above deck of the ship.

"All right I think we lost the others." Shawn remarked.

"Hang on, I think I hear something." Sky told the others.

The Editors fell silent as they heard the sound of someone climbing up the ladder.

"Huh? Who could that be?" Jo wondered.

The members of the Editors looked over towards the ladder. At that moment, Owen climbed up into the boat.

"Woo! Made it!" Owen cheered before noticing the team he was against. "Oh… Hey there…"

"What the- How did you get out!" Jo exclaimed in surprise.

"Uh… Well… Y'know, maybe you should just leave me alone while I go find my team?" Owen suggested as he slowly began backing away.

Just then, Lightning climbed up into the pirate ship.

"Sha-yeah! Did it!" Lightning happily cheered before looking around and seeing his team. "Oh, what's up guys."

"Did you let him escape?" Jo asked Lightning.

"Uh, no, a monkey in a tiny little top hat broke him out and beat Lightning up." Lightning lied.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Lightning)**

"Lightning coulda lied better than that." Lightning admitted.

* * *

The door the Editors just came out of opened up and the Writers came on to the scene.

"Owen? What are you doing up here?" Leshawna asked.

"Uh, trying to find you guys." Owen explained.

"Well, looks like we've got ourselves a good old fashion Mexican Standoff." Scott remarked.

"This is _not_ a Mexican Standoff." Harold told Scott.

"Close enough." Scott said.

"Jo, do you got a plan, man?" Lightning asked.

"I sure do." Jo replied. "Everybody: Get out of here as fast as you can!"

"Didn't you just say that earlier?" Shawn asked.

"Yeah, the plan hasn't changed." Jo told him. "So everyone start running!"

The Editors, with Jo taking lead, ran over to the side of the old boat and jumped over the side into the lake.

"Should we follow them?" Anne Maria wondered.

"What do we have to lose?" Harold replied.

"You serious?" Leshawna asked.

Harold nodded.

"All right. Might was well." Leshawna agreed. "Everyone, overboard!"

The Writers ran to the edge of the ship and plunged into the underground lake water below.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Harold)**

"Admittedly, _that_ wasn't a very good idea either." Harold confessed.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Owen)**

"Gonna be honest, after catching up with my team, jumping into the water wasn't the first thing I thought we'd be doing." Owen remarked.

* * *

Both teams swam through the water towards the other side of the cave.

"Y'know, this is kinda slow." Shawn remarked as he moved through the lake.

"Shut up and keep swimming!" Jo yelled at him.

After a few more minutes of swimming, Sky, Jo, and Lightning were able to reach the other side of the underground lake before anyone else could.

"So… Now what?" Sky asked.

"Huh, I coulda sworn there was some kind of exit." Jo remarked.

"Yo, Lightning think he sees something." Lightning remarked as he pointed at a small opening vertical in the rocks. "The short girl can fit through there. She's thin."

"You mean me?" Sky asked. "Is that a good idea?"

"Do it." Jo told her. "What's the worst that could happen?"

"If you say so." Sky replied. "Here I go."

Sky moved closer to the opening in the stone wall and began squeezing through.

"Okay… This is starting to get too close for comfort…" Sky nervously remarked as she moved through the narrow opening.

"Go girl, you're almost there!" Lightning cheered his teammate on.

After a few more moments, Sky was able to make it to the other side.

"All right! I made it to the beach!" Sky cheered from the other side of the rock.

"Can you get us out!" Jo shouted to her partner.

"I think I can see some rocks to move." Sky replied from the other end. "If I move them I could make some room for you guys."

The sound of stone moving and hitting against other rocks was heard by the contestants inside the cave. A cloud of sand was kicked up outside and it leaked into the cave.

"Yo! Watch it!" Lighting yelled.

When the sand cloud cleared it was revealed that Sky had been successful in making the opening in the rock bigger.

"Finally." Jo said. "Let's get out of here."

"Wait, shouldn't we wait for the other guys?" Lightning pointed out.

"They'll catch up." Jo told him. "Don't worry about it."

Lightning shrugged before he and Jo exited the cave together. Moments after they escaped, the Writers swam up to the newly enlarged hole in the wall.

"Well, it was nice for the other team to do all the work for us." Scott snidely remarked.

"At least it's an easy way out." Zoey pointed out.

"Agreed." Harold replied.

At that time, Harold stepped out of the cave through the opening.

"Oh! Me next!" Owen cheered.

In his excitement, Owen dived at the hole in the wall only to get stuck halfway in.

"Uh oh..." Owen trailed off. "Sorry guys…"

"Well, we'd better start pushing." Dave stated.

"I'll pull!" Harold called from the outside.

The scene switched to the outside with the escaped contestants standing near a wall of rock at the beach with Owen's front half sticking out. Harold attempted to pull on Owen's arms to get him out.

"Yo, shouldn't we be stoppin' this thing?" Lightning questioned.

"I dunno, I kinda wanna see where this goes." Jo replied.

"Actually, we want Owen to get out. If he stays stuck in there, the rest of our team can't get out." Sky pointed out.

"Oh… Damn it!" Jo suddenly realized. "All right everyone, new plan: Help get Owen out of there."

Lightning, Sky, and Jo grabbed Owen's arms and began pulling him along with Harold.

"Whoa! Be careful!" Owen exclaimed.

Back inside the cave, the other Writers were pushing on the other half of Owen in an attempt to get him out.

"How long do you think this'll take?" Dave asked as he pushed.

"Well, I'm not sure. But whatever it is, it's gonna be too long." Leshawna replied.

Just then, Shawn and Beth swam to the shore.

"Huh? I thought the other team would've gotten out by now." Beth remarked.

"Yeah, that's weird." Shawn agreed. "What happened?"

"Owen's stuck." Zoey explained. "Can you give us a hand?"

"Of course." Beth replied.

Beth and Shawn began pushing on Owen too. After a few more moments of pushing on one side and pulling on the other, Owen came out of the hole in the wall.

"Woo! Did it!" Owen cheered. "I'm free!"

At that moment, the remaining contestants scrambled to get out of the cave. Shawn was the first one out.

"Phew…" Shawn sighed. "Oh, right, Beth!"

Shawn reached into the mass of people trying to find Beth only for the girl to climb out on her own.

"I made it!" Beth cheered. "Wait, does this mean we won?"

All the contestants began glowing a light shade of blue.

"I think that's a yes." Jo replied.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Beth)**

"Winning sure was a relief." Beth remarked. "I was worried Jo was gonna vote me out for sure if we lost."

* * *

Back in the real world, the contestants were woken from the machine and they stood up.

"So… Did we lose?" Dave asked.

"Pretty sure we did." Harold replied.

"You'd be right." Chris told him. "Looks like the Angry Editors get to enjoy not having any one on their team eliminated. As for the Writers, you're gonna have to make a decision."

"But on the bright side, y'all get to have a delicious meal: Courtesy of me." Chef told the teams.

"How is that a bright side?" Zoey asked.

Chef glared at her.

"Uh, I mean… Yay." Zoey said.

"That's better." Chef told her.

The scene changed to later in the day with both teams in the mess hall eating a meal prepared by Chef. The camera focused on the table occupied by the Editors.

"Cheers to us winning." Jo said. "May it happen again."

"Sha-yeah!" Lightning cheered. "You go bro!"

"If only the food was better." Beth remarked.

"Well, this has been fun, but I need to get some fresh air." Sky told her teammates. "See you."

Sky got up from the table and walked away from her team.

"I think I'll join her." Jo commented.

Jo stood up and followed Sky.

"Hmm, somethin' is up between those two." Lightning remarked.

"Yeah, I thought we all saw that." Shawn replied.

"Lightning didn't realize 'til now." Lightning said.

The camera moved over to the Writers' table.

"Well, that challenge coulda ended better." Anne Maria remarked.

"Please, tell us more stuff we already know…" Scott grumpily muttered.

"Jeez, just tryin' to make some small talk here." Anne Maria told him.

"Y'know, between us losing and the awful food, I don't know how this day will get worse." Zoey stated.

"Well, one of us will be eliminated." Harold pointed out.

"Oh, right, that." Zoey remembered.

"Hey, does anyone want to donate their food to me?" Owen asked.

"Actually, I think I'm gonna go eat in the trailer." Dave told his team. "It's a lot cleaner in there."

Dave took his tray of food and exited the building.

"Hmm, I think I'll go with him." Scott decided. "He is right. Our trailer is _slightly_ less dumpy than the cafeteria."

Scott stood up from the table and left.

"Hey, he forgot his food." Anne Maria realized.

"Oh well, more for me." Owen remarked as he scraped the food from Scott's plate to his own.

Meanwhile, Sky was off in another part of the film lot jogging by herself.

"Ah, nothing like fresh outdoors air." Sky commented to herself. "Not as nice as Pahkitew Island, but it'll do."

She turned a corner and accidentally ran into a rack of costumes.

"Whoa!" Sky exclaimed as she fell over.

The athlete slowly stood up.

"Huh… Would've thought they'd have gotten rid of all the old props by now." Sky remarked.

Sky leaned in closer at the costumes.

"Gee, these things look like they've been here a while." Sky noticed.

Her eyes fell on an oddly clean looking leather jacket hanging on the rack.

"Hmm… That one looks new." Sky observed. "Wonder what that means."

Sky grabbed the jacket off the rack to investigate further.

"This actually looks like it might fit me." Sky remarked.

She shrugged and slipped into the jacket.

"Hey, this does feel pretty nice." Sky said. "Wait… There's something in one of these pockets."

Sky reached into one of the pockets on her jacket and pulled out what appeared to be a small golden bust of Chris.

"Oh my gosh… This is one of the Invincibility Statues." Sky realized. "This is incredible! Wait, I can't tell anyone else about this."

The camera zoomed out to reveal Jo hiding behind a nearby stack of crates.

"Too late for that one…" Jo quietly remarked.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jo)**

"So… Sky has a Statue now. What an interesting development." Jo said. "The question is, how can I use this to my advantage."

* * *

Meanwhile, inside the boys' cabin, Dave was eating his meal inside there.

"It's a lot better in here actually." Dave remarked, looking directly into the camera. "It's cleaner and quieter. I can't think of anything that could ruin it."

At that moment, Scott entered the room.

"Never mind…" Dave muttered.

"Well, what a funny coincidence meeting you here." Scott commented, trying to sound casual.

"What do you want?" Dave asked.

"I want to talk about our alliance." Scott replied.

"We're not in an alliance." Dave told him. "So leave me alone."

"I think we really help each other out." Scott insisted. "Let's face it, we'll both get nowhere on our own. But if we worked together we could get pretty far. I could even help you eliminate that ex girlfriend of yours if we get the chance."

Dave sat silently in thought for a few moments.

"All right, I'm in." Dave decided.

"You've made a great decision." Scott replied. "Now, let's talk strategy."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Dave)**

"On one hand, being in an alliance with Scott is weird." Dave admitted. "On the other hand, it's one of the only ways I can get past the merge."

* * *

The scene changed to later with the members of the Raving Writers sitting in front of the stage Chris was on.

"So tell me, did you have fun today?" Chris asked.

"Besides the part where we lost, I actually kinda did." Zoey admitted.

"Huh, that was not the answer I was expecting." Chris remarked. "Oh well. You know what to do: Cast you votes!"

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Anne Maria)**

Anne Maria held a crossed out photograph of Harold to the camera.

"Listen Harold, there's somethin' about you that I just plain don't like." Anne Maria stated. "I think you think 'yer smarter than you actually are. The rest of these guys are all right mostly. To be honest it was down between you and Scott. But he ain't really seemin' that threatening anymore."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Zoey)**

Zoey showed a picture of Harold with the word "Sorry" written on it.

"Harold, I am so, so sorry." Zoey said. "But after thinking about it, this is just the person I feel the most comfortable voting for. Owen's a nice guy, I feel like Leshawna and me have a few things in common, Anne Maria's being nice to me for some reason, Dave's quiet but he seems all right, and really, Scott hasn't done anything that bad in a while. I think he's straightened out. Again, I'm really sorry, Harold."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Scott)**

Scott showed a photograph of Owen with an X over it to the camera.

"Really, he's more of a problem than anything." Scott remarked. "We gave him one job, and he blew it big time. Hopefully Dave doesn't chicken out of this vote."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Dave)**

Dave held up a crossed out photo of Owen.

"Look, I feel bad about this." Dave told the audience. "But this is part of Scott's plan. I'm sure Owen won't mind. He's a nice guy."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Owen)**

Owen drew an X on a photograph of Anne Maria and showed it to the camera.

"You're the one I feel most comfortable voting for." Owen explained. "No offence."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Leshawna)**

Leshawna showed a crossed out picture of Anne Maria to the camera.

"I'm gettin' a bad feeling about you." Leshawna explained. "Nothin' personal, but you might become too big a threat if you stay for too long. Nobody normal wears that much stuff on their face."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Harold)**

"It's between Anne Maria and Owen for me." Harold explained. "Anne Maria seems like trouble if she makes the merge. But Owen did sort of mess the challenge up. On the other hand, I've known him for longer… It's a real toss up for me."

* * *

The scene changed to Chris back on stage in front of the team.

"So, the votes were cast and you're about to hear about the results." Chris told the contestants. "Scott, Leshawna, Dave, and Zoey. You're all safe."

Chef threw four Gilded Chris Awards to the foursome.

"Harold, Anne Maria, Owen, this next award will go to one of you." Chris explained. "And the person it goes to is…"

…

…

…

…

…

…

"…. Harold!"

Harold caught the second to last award as it was flung at him.

"Yes!" Harold cheered.

"Anne Maria, Owen, one of you will be eliminated." Chris told them. "But, the other one will get this lovely Gilded Chris Award. And the person who gets it is…"

…

…

…

…

…

…

"…. Anne Maria!"

Chef threw the final award to Anne Maria who quickly caught it.

"Phew, that was close." Anne Maria remarked.

"Aw man…" Owen sighed. "Well, at least I had fun."

"Sorry Owen, looks like for once you didn't make the merge." Chris told him. "But you still get a ride in the Lame-O-Sine."

"Woohoo! Free limo!" Owen cheered as he stood up.

Owen looked over at his team.

"Well, bye guys." Owen said.

He got down from the bleachers and walked down the red carpet to where the limousine was waiting for him. Owen quickly entered the car.

"All right, let's find the nearest drive-thru!" Owen enthusiastically ordered the driver.

The vehicle abruptly sped off. Once it was gone, Chris walked up to the edge of the red carpet.

"Well, it's been another day at the movies and another contestant has gone." Chris told the audience. "It's only a matter of time until these two teams become one. How long will that be? Stick around to find out on Total. Drama. Winners!"

* * *

 **Votes:**

Anne Maria - Harold

Dave - Owen

Harold - Owen

Leshawna - Anne Maria

Owen - Anne Maria

Scott - Owen

Zoey - Harold

 **Results:**

Owen - 3 Votes

Anne Maria - 2 Votes

Harold - 2 Votes

 **Eliminated:**

Mike, the Nice Guy (18th Place)

Max, the Super Villain (17th Place)

Lindsay, the Dumb Princess (16th Place)

Geoff, the Funnest Guy Around (15th Place)

Sugar, the Pageant Queen (14th Place)

Jasmine, the Outback Survivalist (13th Place)

Owen, the Party Animal (12th Place)

* * *

 **I hope you liked this chapter. I've seen the Goonies several times and I do recommend it. It's a pretty entertaining adventure movie. In addition, I found the challenge based off of it fun to write. As for why I chose to eliminate Owen, I like him as a character. But I really only saw him as comic relief. Sorry to anyone who wanted to see more of him. Anyway, please leave a review if you want to let me know your thoughts on my story. Thanks for reading.**


	10. Mild, Mild, West

**If you couldn't tell from the title, this chapter is based on the western genre of movies. I've actually seen a considerable amount of westerns. A lot of them sort of run together for me, but there are still quite a few stand outs. Some of my favourite westerns include Red River, True Grit, and of course the Good the Bad and the Ugly. Anyway, with that short opening bit out of the way, please feel free to enjoy the rest of the chapter.**

* * *

"Previously, on Total Drama Winners. We sent our teams on a treasure hunt." Footage of the teams travelling through the underground caverns played. "Despite it being a close race, the Angry Editors ended up being the victors of the challenge." A clip of both teams swimming through the underground lake was shown next. "In the end, Scott was able to win over Dave to his side and Owen ended up being the one who was eliminated." A clip of Owen being driven away in the limousine played next.

The footage changed to Chris taking a stroll in front of the film lot.

"What an exciting game it's been so far." Chris remarked. "But it's far from over. So stick around. 'Cause this is: Total. Drama. Losers!"

* * *

 **(Theme Song)**

* * *

The camera faded in on the two trailers the contestants resided in from the outside. It then faded in to the interior of the boys' cabin. All the boys, except for Shawn who was absent, were fast asleep. Dave was the first to wake up. He slowly looked around the room.

"Hmm… Y'know, this isn't so bad." Dave remarked. "I think I must have beat Lightning as the first up."

Dave brought himself to the edge of the bed and inched himself off the side. The only problem was, Dave was on the top bunk and ended up falling flat on his face once he was off the bed.

"Gah! Why!" Dave exclaimed. "How did I even forget I was on the top bunk!?"

The pained shouting from Dave was enough to wake the rest of the boys in the trailer.

"Ugh… What's that noise…" Scott muttered as he stirred awake.

"I think I broke my entire face…" Dave weakly replied.

"Are you going to be okay?" Harold asked.

"He sure doesn't sound okay." Scott remarked.

"Sha-chill, bro." Lightning told Dave. "All you gotta do is rub some raw steak on it… 'Least Lightning thinks so."

"And where would you suggest I find that?" Dave asked.

"Dunno. Try the kitchen." Lightning suggested. "Just make sure Chef don't catch you."

"I guess it's worth a shot." Dave replied.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Dave)**

Dave was seen pressing a frozen steak against his right eye.

"Well, Lightning was right about the steak." Dave remarked. "My eye feels better. But… Now I'm worried the raw meat's gonna give me an infection…"

* * *

 **(Confessional: Scott)**

"I'm starting to think this alliance with Dave was a mistake." Scott told the audience. "Who forgets they're on the top bunk? Hmm… I'm sure I just have to give it time."

* * *

Meanwhile, inside the other trailer, all the girls were resting. Anne Maria slowly opened her eyes and looked around the room.

"Ah… Finally, I get to wake up on my own time." Anne Maria remarked.

Anne Maria gets up from her bed. Once he's up, she reaches into her oversized hairdo.

"Hmm… Now where'd that spray get off to?" Anne Maria wondered out loud.

After a few more moments of rummaging around, she pulled a can of hairspray out from her hair.

"There we go." Anne Maria said. "That's the stuff."

She began to spray herself with the product. The hairspray began to clog up the crowded space of the trailer causing the other girls to wake up.

"Ah, what is that smell?" Sky asked.

"Smells like a chemical truck crashed just outside." Beth remarked.

"All right I get it, ya don't like my hairspray." Anne Maria replied, sounding annoyed. "I'll take it outside."

"We'd all prefer it if you did that." Jo told her.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Zoey)**

"Well, that was _not_ the awakening I expected." Zoey commented.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jo)**

"I'm very glad me and Anne Maria are on different teams." Jo stated. "She seems to be more dead weight than anything else."

* * *

Later, Lightning was off jogging on his own.

"Oh yeah Lightning! You can do! Gotta seize the day!" Lightning motivated himself. "Sha-boom!"

In his excitement, Lightning ran into a trashcan. He tumbled over and the contents of the trashcan spilled. But instead of any garbage, Shawn fell out.

"Hey! Can't a guy sleep!" Shawn exclaimed.

"What?" Lightning asked as he got up from the ground. "You were sleepin' in there?"

"Yeah, I thought it seemed like a good hiding place." Shawn explained as he stood up. "Clearly, I was wrong."

"Y'know, this is actually a good time for us to run into each other." Lightning remarked as he helped Shawn up from the ground. "Have you thought about Lightning's idea?"

"What idea?" Shawn replied, sounding a little confused.

"Don'cha remember?" Lightning asked. "We should team up."

"Oh, right, that." Shawn recalled. "Yeah, I'll still have to think about it. No offence, but you're a potential enemy to me."

"Lightning gets it. Anyone who sleeps in a garbage can needs to a few moments to chill." Lightning replied. "Later, crazy boy. But remember Lightning's offer."

"Thank you?" Shawn confusedly responded.

Lightning continued on with his jog.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Shawn)**

"Y'know, after that, I really don't know what to make of Lightning." Shawn stated.

* * *

The camera then cut to a close up of the film lot's loud speakers.

"Morning!" Chris greeted the teams through the speakers. "How are you on this fine day? Just kidding, there's no way for me to hear you. I'm just here to let you know to gather in the usual spot for today's challenge. Have fun!"

The scene changed to the teams arriving inside the studio the challenges usually take place in. Chef and Chris were already in wait.

"Took you long enough." Chris remarked.

"Jeez, that ain't a very nice way to greet us." Anne Maria pointed out.

"Don't care. There is only so long a guy can wait around before he gets impatient." Chris explained.

"Can you please just tell us what the challenge is?" Beth requested.

"Well Beth, if you insist." Chris replied. "Tell me, anyone here a fan of westerns?"

"I saw the third Back To the Future film. Does that count?" Leshawna asked.

"Not in my book." Chris replied. "But whatever. Anyway, what I was trying to say was that this challenge is based off the western genre."

"So what exactly is the aim of this challenge?" Harold asked.

"Well, both teams will be rival groups of bounty hunters." Chris explained. "The aim of the challenge will be to hunt down an outlaw and whoever catches them first, wins. And as usual, if the other team gets wiped out completely, the remaining team wins. Of course, that has yet to happen."

"Something tells me this outlaw is gonna be a special guest." Shawn speculated.

"Hey, you're good at this." Chris remarked before looking at someone off camera. "Hey Duncan! Get in here!"

Duncan walked into view of the camera dressed in a cheap looking cowboy costume.

"Do I really have to wear this?" Duncan asked.

"Yes you do!" Chris shouted at him. "Just be happy I got you out of prison."

Duncan angrily muttered something inaudible to himself.

"That's the spirit." Chris told him before looking over at the teams. "Anyway, get in that machine and hunt down that outlaw!"

The contestants sat down in the chairs and put the helmets over their heads.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sky)**

"I'm not really the type of girl who watches westerns." Sky admitted. "But how hard could it be?"

Sky paused for a moment and then looked directly into the camera.

"You know what, me asking that means it's gonna be hard." Sky realized.

* * *

Inside the virtual world, the Editors found themselves awakening sitting around a table inside a saloon dressed in cowboy attire.

"Hmm… Where are we?" Shawn asked.

"Well, we're in the old west but that was already obvious." Jo replied.

"But where do we go from here?" Beth questioned.

"Well, first we need to find that dude with the piercings." Lightning stated. "Then we gotta catch him."

"I'll see if there are any wanted posters lying around." Shawn told his team.

Shawn stood up from his chair and walked over to the bar which had a young woman tending to it.

"Can I get'cha anything 'hon?" The woman asked.

"Any bounties me and my friends can collect?" Shawn asked. "Specifically, anything about a guy named Duncan?"

"Ya mean him?" The woman pointed to a poster on the wall behind her featuring a sketch of Duncan.

"Dastardly Duncan. Wanted dead or alive." Shawn read off the poster. "Yep, that'd be him. Know where we can find him."

"Sugar, I just work here." The bartender told him. "If you don't want anything to drink go ask someone else."

Meanwhile, the Writers found themselves waking up standing inside a general store dressed as cowboys.

"Huh? Where are we?" Dave asked.

"Looks like some kind of a shop." Harold told him.

Leshawna looked around the room and saw a short man at the counter.

"Let's see if that guy can help us." Leshawna said.

The contestants approached the counter.

"Welcome to Wayne's General Goods." The man greeted. "Are y'all lookin' for anything in particular? Saddles, shovels, dried foods."

"Know anything 'bout a guy named Duncan?" Anne Maria replied.

"Ya mean Dastardly Duncan? Ya ain't workin' with him, are you?" The man asked.

"The opposite actually." Scott told him. "We wanna catch him. Got any leads?"

"Well, I ain't really the town gossip so I can't help you there." The store owner admitted. "But if you want some words of advice, if you're gonna go bounty hunting, you're gonna need some horses."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Harold)**

"I was a little nervous when I heard about horses." Harold commented. "I've never ridden a horse before. Then again, I don't think anyone else on my team had done that either. Well, maybe Sugar, but we voted her off already."

* * *

The Writers exited the general goods store and saw the Editors exiting the saloon across the street.

"Well, we didn't expect to be bumping into you so soon." Sky remarked.

"We didn't think we'd be seeing you either." Harold replied.

"Lookin' for anything?" Lightning asked.

"I dunno, are you." Anne Maria replied.

The two teams stood in silence.

"Well… Guess we'd better get going." Dave told the others. "This silence is starting to get too awkward for me."

"Same here." Jo admitted before turning to her team. "Everyone, let's move out! We need to find out where Duncan would be hiding."

Both teams walked off in different directions.

The scene focused itself on the Editors.

"So, uh, where exactly would we be able to find info on Duncan?" Beth asked.

"Well, if we wanna find one criminal, you have to find a different criminal." Jo stated. "And if I know anything from watching old movies at my grandpa's house we have to go to the bad side of town. That's where all the criminals hang out."

"You sure?" Shawn asked.

"Not completely." Jo admitted. "But it's the best lead I can come up with."

"I guess we'll follow it for now." Sky remarked.

The team continued down the street for a bit more until they stopped in front of a building with a sign in front of it reading "The Buzzard's Corpse".

"Huh… Can't get much seedier than that." Lightning remarked.

"Yeah, I'm getting a bad feeling about this place." Beth agreed.

"Just act like you fit in and everything should be all right." Jo advised her team. "Um… Well, probably."

The Editors stepped through the threshold and entered the suspicious saloon. Around the bar were dangerous looking patrons and surly servers.

"All right people, let's spread out and question the people here." Jo instructed. "Don't say anything to them that'll get you stabbed, shot, or both."

"You need to work on being more motivational." Sky told her.

"It's good advice." Jo stated. "Now come on everybody, let's move it."

The team split off into different parts of the tavern with Lightning and Shawn going to one end Jo, Sky, and Beth going to the other.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Beth)**

"I did not like the atmosphere in that creepy saloon." Beth remarked. "I mean, on one hand it's pretty cool Chris made it seem so real. But on the other hand, it was still really creepy."

* * *

Meanwhile, the Writers had arrived at the town stables.

"Hello! Anyone in here!" Zoey called out once her team was inside the stables.

An older my sleeping in a chair in the corner of the stables awoke and ran up to the team.

"Howdy!" The old man enthusiastically greeted. "I'm in charge of the stables 'round here. Y'all lookin' to make a purchase."

"In fact we are." Harold told him.

"What kinda horse do ya need?" The old man asked.

"Well, we're bounty hunters." Anne Maria explained. "Got anything for that sorta work?"

"Bounty huntin', eh? I might have something. But it's gonna cost ya." The old man told the team. "How much do you fellers got?

"Uh… That is a good question." Zoey admitted.

"What'cha mean by that?" The old man asked.

"We don't know, basically." Harold clarified.

"Hmmph… And people call me confused just 'cause I'm old…" The old man grumbled to himself. "Dang young 'uns."

"Quick, let's check our cash." Scott told his team.

The members of the Writers felt around in their pockets for any possible money that had on them. Each member of the team pulled out a small was of cash.

"Now we're talkin'." The old man remarked.

"So how many horses can we get for this?" Anne Maria asked.

"Well, these are some of my best horses." The old man stated. "And there are six of you… Hmm… Tell ya what, I'll let you buy three horses and y'all can double up on them. And since ya look trustworthy I'll cut the price in half."

"Is doubling up safe?" Dave questioned.

"I ain't ever tried it." The old man admitted. "But it's the best offer I can give ya. What's it gonna be?"

"Fine, we'll take it." Zoey told him. "But this had better not be a trick."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Zoey)**

"I don't know about you, but whenever I hear a deal that sounds too good to be true, I realize that it's probably not true." Zoey told the audience.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the Buzzard's Corpse, the Editors were poking around the saloon. The scene specifically focused on Beth, Jo, and Sky sitting at a table with three dangerous looking men playing a game of cards.

"So… What game have you got there?" Sky tried to start conversation.

"None of yer business." One of the men replied.

"Heh, you seem pretty tough." Beth remarked.

"You givin' me lip, missy?" The gambler asked.

"Uh, I don't think so." Beth nervously told him.

"Good." The gambler replied.

"So, you guys see anyone interesting come through here?" Jo asked.

"We see lots of people." A second gambler replied. "What's it to ya?"

"We're looking for someone." Sky explained. "His name's Duncan. He's a… Old friend."

"Hmm… Tell ya what. If you beat us in a game of cards we'll talk." The first gambler stated.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sky)**

"Now that I think about it, playing cards with at trio of shady characters wasn't the best idea." Sky admitted.

* * *

Meanwhile, over by the bar in the saloon, Lightning and Shawn were talking to the man tending the area.

"Listen pal, I don't know no 'Dastardly Duncan'." The bartender told the two boys. "Besides, he'd kill me if I told ya."

The bartender froze up once he realized what he just said.

"So you do know him?" Lightning asked.

"Uh… Well, uh, maybe." The bartender lied. "It ain't any of your business."

"Listen man, if we take care of this guy, he won't be able to kill you." Lightning told him. "You dig?"

"I don't get what I'd be digging for. I don't even own a shovel." The bartender replied. "But, it would be nice to get that feller away from me."

"So you'll tell us?" Shawn asked.

The bartender leaned towards the two Editors and whispered. "Rattlesnake Ridge… That's all I'll say."

"So that's where Lightning can find this dude?" Lightning asked. "Thanks, man."

The two of them walked over to their table where the rest of their team was at.

"Yo, we found what we were lookin' for." Lightning told his other teammates.

"Thank god." Jo replied. "This game was going nowhere."

Jo, Sky, and Beth stood up.

"By the way, we lost a lot of a money to these guys." Beth informed her teammates.

"Oh… Well, that can't be good." Shawn remarked.

Meanwhile, the Writers were standing just outside of the stables.

"All right, so, we have horses. What's next on the checklist?" Scott asked.

"Now that we have that out of the way, we'd better try to find Duncan." Harold told him.

"How are we 'sposed to do that?" Anne Maria questioned.

"Did someone say Duncan?" An unfamiliar male voice asked from out of view of the team. "As in 'Dastardly Duncan'?"

The team looked to their right and saw a grizzled looking man with a large beard wearing a raccoon skin cap approaching them.

"Yeah, him." Scott replied. "Why are you asking?"

"Dirty rat owes me money." The grizzled man explained. "Only problem is I ain't wanting to take him on by myself."

"Are you suggesting to work together?" Zoey asked.

"Sure am." The man replied. "Name's Richard Greenfield, but folks call me Rusty Rick. I've got myself a horse and I know the fastest route to the biggest house of crime in this here state: Rattlesnake Ridge."

"We're in." Scott told him.

"Great." Rick replied. "You ain't gonna regret this."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Leshawna)**

"I ain't really one to trust creepy older men with names like 'Rusty Rick'." Leshawna told the audience. "But we didn't have that many options."

* * *

Meanwhile, the Editors were exiting the sleazy saloon together.

"So we're going to some place called Rattlesnake Ridge, eh." Jo remarked.

"The only question is how to get there." Shawn added.

"Think there are any trains?" Beth asked. "I'm not exactly sure how far back in the old west we went."

"That's a good idea." Sky remarked. "Everybody, keep an eye out of trains to Rattlesnake Ridge."

"Pardon me. But did you say Rattlesnake Ridge?" A male voice asked from out of sight.

Before they could look around to see who just spoke, a man in a top hat and a dusty red and black checkered suit approached the team.

"The name's Phineas B. Whaler." The man introduced himself. "And I was thinking we could help each other out right here."

"I'm sorry, who exactly are you?" Shawn asked.

"I'm a salesman of sorts." Phineas explained. "Any of you have a disease or impairment? I have a miracle cure that'll knock it right out."

"We'll pass." Jo told him.

"Well, you'll come around eventually. I'm sure of that." Phineas replied. "Now, the matter I'd like to discuss is that I may need your help. You see, I'm travelling to Rattlesnake Ridge and I'm in need of some protection. My last bodyguards… They're all dead."

"And you want us to replace them?" Lightning guessed. "Sha-sweet."

"Precisely." Phineas said. "I provide you all with passage to Rattlesnake Ridge, and you keep me from getting killed by wild animals or bandits. Simple as that."

"Give us a moment." Jo replied before turning to her team. "All right guys, huddle up."

The Editors formed a huddle.

"Okay, so I'm not the only one who doesn't trust this guy, right?" Sky asked.

"Yeah, this guy is obviously some sort of shyster." Shawn agreed.

"But he's also our only option right now." Beth pointed out.

"Hmm… That is true." Sky admitted.

"Lightning likes him." Lightning remarked. "He's got a cool suit and sells medicine. How bad could he be?"

"You've been quiet Jo. What are your thoughts?" Shawn asked.

"I say we go for it." Jo said. "He may be a con artist, but he just seems like he wants help. Plus, I don't really think we can buy horses after losing to those gamblers."

The team came out of their huddle.

"So, what's it gonna be?" Phineas asked.

"We're in." Jo replied.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jo)**

"Yeah, that guy was definitely a snake oil salesman. But I'm sure the other team was doing worse at that point." Jo remarked.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Writers had begun to cross the desert. Rick was leading the team with Scott and Dave on the horse behind him, Leshawna and Harold on a horse after that, and Zoey and Anne Maria on a horse in the very back. The camera focused on the duo of girls in the very back.

"Gah! There's so much dust being kicked in our faces!" Zoey exclaimed, coughing a little in the process.

"This is what we get for ridin' in the back." Anne Maria remarked.

"So what do you think our team's chances are?" Zoey asked. "For wining, I mean."

"I'd say it's pretty good. We got horses, we got a guide, we got-" Anne Maria began before pausing. "Hold up, do we got guns?"

"I'd check but I'm too afraid of falling of this horse." Zoey replied.

Anne Maria let one hand go from the reins of the horse and felt around at her waist until her hand felt a pistol in its holster.

"Yep, there's definitely a gun there." Anne Maria commented as she quickly grabbed back on to the reins.

"Well, I guess that's a good thing." Zoey remarked. "What's that saying? 'Don't bring your fists to a gunfight'?"

"Close enough." Anne Maria replied.

"Hey, so, if we lose who do you think we should vote off?" Zoey asked.

"I'm thinkin' Scott." Anne Maria commented. "He hasn't done much bad… But I'm startin' to think it's a ruse or something."

"I was just thinking the same thing." Zoey remarked.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Zoey)**

"You know, I really don't mind Anne Maria being friendlier with me." Zoey told the audience. "Although, I don't really get why she uses so much hairspray. I guess some things will always be a mystery."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Anne Maria)**

"Who'd have thought me and Zoey would make such a good duo." Anne Maria remarked. "I wouldn't consider her my _best_ friend, but she's good to have around anyway."

* * *

The camera moved ahead to Harold and Leshawna on their horse together.

"Isn't this horseback ride fun?" Harold asked.

"No actually." Leshawna replied. "I feel like I've swallowed a gallon of dust. Lucky for you, you're sitting behind me."

"Yeah, there isn't as much dust back here." Harold admitted. "Would you like to switch places?"

"It'd be too much work." Leshawna told him. "I'll just deal with it for now."

There was a silence as the two of them continued to ride forward on their horse.

"By the way, good job on not trying to hit on me." Leshawna said to Harold.

"Was that sarcasm?" Harold asked.

"Kinda." Leshawna admitted. "But seriously, I'm glad you got the message that I only like you as a friend."

"Yeah, just friends…" Harold said.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Harold)**

Harold let out a long sigh.

"I still haven't gotten over Leshawna." Harold told the audience. "But I also don't want to look creepy. It's a bit of a paradox really."

* * *

Meanwhile, inside a carriage crossing the desert, the Editors lounged in the interior of a small cabin area filled with bottles of various liquids attached to the carriage.

"Do you think this guy is the best driver?" Lightning asked.

"Do any of you guys know how to drive a carriage like this?" Jo pointed out.

"I just hope that we don't have to put this bodyguard thing into action." Beth remarked. "I'm not sure how we'd do that."

"Nobody will want to rob a con artist like this guy." Sky told Beth. "I'm sure we don't have to worry about it."

"Didn't he say his last bodyguards _died_?" Shawn pointed out.

"Okay, so maybe we _do_ have to worry about it." Sky admitted.

"So what do you guys think is in these bottles?" Beth asked.

"Probably just water flavoured with onions or something like that." Jo guessed. "There's no way anything this guy sells is legit."

"Yeah, but he had a cool suit." Lightning argued. "That's gotta count for something."

"Lots of dumb people wear cool suits." Jo told him. "Just look at… Dang it. Quick, someone give me a relevant celebrity to mock."

"I've got nothing." Shawn replied.

"Hey, so, what's our strategy once we find Duncan?" Lightning asked. "'Cause, Lightning doesn't think we talked about this."

"How hard could it be?" Jo asked. "The poster said dead or alive. So all we have to do is sneak up and kill him."

"It's probably not going to be that easy, you know." Sky pointed out.

"Yeah… You're probably right." Jo admitted. "But it's a good confidence booster to tell yourself that it is."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sky)**

"You know what's funny? Ever since Jasmine was eliminated Jo's been slowly becoming more competent." Sky remarked. "No offence to Jasmine of course. But after we won the last challenge things really started to look up."

* * *

Meanwhile, the Writers, as well as their guide, had arrived in a town with a sign outside it reading "Rattlesnake Ridge". All of the Writers were caked in dust kicked up from their ride to the town.

"Well, this is the place." Rick told the team. "Now we just gotta find that low down no good varmint. 'Course, y'all might wanna get that dirt offa yourselves first."

"Very funny…." Scott grumpily muttered.

"So where should we look for Duncan?" Dave asked.

"Knowin' him he's probably tryin' to scam someone in a came of cards." Rick replied. "Let's try the inn first."

The team, and their guide, began walking down the street.

"So how should we do this once we find him?" Leshawna asked.

"Well, my plan is that I distract him by asking about the money he owes." Rick suggested. "Then, while that happens one of you shoots him while he ain't looking. 'Course, we could also challenge him to a good old fashioned dual in the streets if you think you're a good enough shot."

"I think the first idea sounds more likely to succeed." Harold remarked. "Of course, then we'd have to deal with any of his associates."

"Who cares, the challenge would end once we deal with Duncan." Scott pointed out.

"What challenge?" Rick asked.

"Nothing you'd understand." Scott told him.

"Hmm… All right." Rick replied.

The Writers and their guide began walking down the street towards a building with a sign hanging outside it that read "Rattlesnake Ridge Inn". The team entered the inn and approached a woman at a desk in front.

"How can I help y'all?" The woman asked. "Lookin' to rent a room?"

"Know anyone by the name of Duncan?" Zoey asked.

"Duncan… Duncan…. Nope, never heard of him. And if I did it wouldn't be my business to tell you." The woman replied in a suspicious sounding manner. "Now would you kindly get out of my inn?"

"Wait, can't we have a room for the night?" Harold asked.

"There ain't no rooms available upstairs." The woman said.

"But earlier you asked if we wanted a room." Dave pointed out.

"Never said that." The woman denied. "Now please get outta here. Shoo!"

The team exited the room.

"Hmm, well, I didn't see him in there anyway." Rick remarked. "But y'all might wanna try a new strategy for this bounty hunting thing."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Scott)**

"In retrospect, going around and asking potential criminals where one of their most wanted was is not a smart move." Scott admitted.

* * *

Meanwhile, inside the back of the carriage, the Editors were still sitting around waiting for their carriage to come to a stop.

"How much longer are we in here?" Beth wondered. "The longer I stay here the worse these bottles start to smell."

"I'm sure it won't last for much longer." Sky told her.

At that moment, the carriage came to a halt.

"See." Sky said. "We're there."

The team stepped out through the back entrance of carriage and took a short drop to the ground. Phineas quickly approached the Editors.

"Well, here we are." Phineas told the team. "Lucky for you nobody tried to rob us. But I'll still need you for the next trip."

"Well, we have some business to attend to in here." Shawn stated. "So we'll be busy."

"All right, just don't get too caught up." Phineas replied. "I tend to leave town before I'm ready to…"

"You mean people figure out you're a sham?" Jo asked.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Phineas denied. "Now, run along. Go to the saloon or something."

The Editors split off from Phineas and began walking down the street.

"You guys think the other team is here yet?" Beth wondered.

"It don't matter. All that does matter is that Lightning's team wins." Lightning replied. "Now c'mon, let's check out that saloon place. Goin' to one of those helped us out last time."

"All right, but let's be careful." Jo advised. "If Duncan really is there, he'll probably have backup."

The team approached a building with a badly damaged sign reading "The Crooked Cactus" before entering.

"Wow, this place seems in worse shape than the last one." Beth remarked.

Sky looked around and saw a large group of patrons surrounding one table.

"That one looks lively." Sky remarked. "Let's check it out."

"Good plan." Jo replied. "But again, be careful."

The Editors walked over to the crowded table to get a closer look. Once they pushed their way through several of the patrons they saw Duncan playing a game of poker with some tough looking cowboys.

"All right boys, looks like I win again." Duncan remarked to his gambling partners.

The gamblers around Duncan angrily grumbled to themselves. Duncan looked up from his cards and saw the Editors.

"Oh, hey there." Duncan greeted the team. "You're one of the teams that's 'sposed to come after me, right?"

"Um… Maybe." Lightning tried to lie.

"Yeah… You're the worst liar I've ever seen." Duncan remarked before turning to some of the patrons around him. "Oh boys…"

Duncan and most of the patrons surrounding him took the guns out of the holsters in their belts and pointed them at the team.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Beth)**

"That was probably the closest to passing out I've ever gotten in a virtual world I've ever gotten." Beth commented. "Granted… That doesn't happen very often."

* * *

"Uh… Can't we talk this out like reasonable folk?" Beth asked.

"We could… But it would be really easy to shoot you right now." Duncan replied.

"B-but, where's the fun in that?" Jo tried to reason.

"Uh, y-yeah. This is supposed to be a _fun_ challenge." Sky nervously added. "It'd make it awfully easy just to end it right here."

"Challenge? What's this lady talkin' about?" One of the patrons asked.

"Don't worry, it's not important." Duncan told the patron before turning back to the team. "Now, I've thought about what you said."

"And?" Shawn asked.

"Well, I think you made a good point." Duncan replied as he stood up. "I've got you all outnumbered. So, I'm going to make things a bit more fair. I mean, I get to be an outlaw king for a few hours. I might as well have some fun with it. Am I Right?"

Duncan slowly began moving towards the exit.

"Yo, where are you goin'?" Lightning asked.

"How do you all feel about a horseback chase?" Duncan replied.

"Uh, we don't have horses." Beth told him.

"Tough luck." Duncan shrugged. "Later."

Duncan dashed out the door and the sound of a horse galloping off was heard almost instantly after.

"After him!" Jo ordered his team.

"Oh no ya don't!" One of the patrons exclaimed.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Shawn)**

"It was at that moment, I learned that watching a bar fight on TV is a lot more fun than being in one." Shawn stated.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Writers were talking just outside of the hotel, attempting to formulate a new plan.

"All right, the hotel was a waste of our time." Leshawna stated. "Now what?"

"We should try out the saloon." Harold suggested. "That's where the action in a lot of westerns movies takes place."

"What's a movie?" Rick asked.

"Nothing you know." Scott told him.

"Well, that ain't very helpful." Rick remarked.

At that moment, a horse carrying Duncan on its back sped past the Writers.

"Whoa!" Zoey exclaimed. "What was that?"

"That looked like Duncan." Dave remarked.

"Quick! Let's get to the horses and get 'em!" Anne Maria ordered her team.

"That dirty snake owes me!" Rick yelled.

The team ran down the street to where their horses were tied up.

"Wait, which order did we get on these in?" Zoey asked.

"Yeah, and who's horses are who's?" Dave added.

"Doesn't matter, just get on and ride." Leshawna told her team. "We're gonna win this."

Zoey and Scott got onto one, Harold and Anne Maria piled on to another, Leshawna and Dave climbed up on the third one, and Rick climbed on to his own.

"All right, let's go!" Leshawna cheered.

Meanwhile, the Editors had just exited the Crooked Cactus saloon together looking very roughed up.

"Man… Lightning barely made it outta there…" Lightning panted.

"We're lucky to have slipped out." Sky remarked.

"How long 'til the chaos clears and they realize we left?" Shawn asked.

"Don't care to find out." Jo told him. "Now c'mon, we need to find that con man and commandeer his carriage before Duncan gets too far off."

"Isn't stealing his carriage to catch a criminal a bit hypocritical." Beth pointed out.

"Not if you're stealing it form a fraud." Jo replied.

"I guess you have a point." Beth remarked.

"Good, now let's go!" Jo ordered.

The team ran down the street until they found Phineas standing in front of a crowd outside his carriage.

"That's right ladies and gents, _this_ simple bottle contains the cure to blindness!" Phineas told his audience as he held up a small vial of yellow liquid. "Simple apply a drop in your eyes every day for a week and your sight shall gradually come back."

Phineas looked over when he saw the Editors.

"Ah, my bodyguards are here." Phineas remarked. "They'll be the perfect to demonstrate my next miracle cure."

"Actually, we need to borrow your wagon for an indefinite amount of time." Shawn explained.

"Now hold up there, you just got this job. I don't trust you that much yet." Phineas replied.

"Too bad, we're taking it anyway." Jo told him.

"Sha-yeah!" Lightning cheered. "What he said!"

The team ran pushed past Phineas, Jo and Shawn got on to front with the horses while the rest climbed into the back.

"This is theft and I won't stand for it!" Phineas protested.

"You're a crook, call this karma." Jo told him.

The Editors quickly rode off in the wagon.

"Oh my lord… I should've hired some one else…" Phineas sighed.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jo)**

"Yes, stealing is wrong." Jo stated. "However, stealing from a virtual con man is not."

* * *

Meanwhile, the Writers were on the tail of Duncan as he fled across the desert. Zoey and Scott's horse was the closest to Duncan, followed by Harold and Anne Maria, Rick's horse behind them, and Leshawna and Dave in the very back of the chase.

"You guys aren't gonna be able to do this!" Duncan yelled to the team. "I've been to jail in real life! There's no way you can catch me!"

"I ain't givin' up! Ya still owe me money!" Rick angrily barked back.

"Yeah, I've got zero idea of who you are, dude." Duncan replied.

"You might as well give up!" Leshawna shouted over to him. "Where do you even think you're going?"

"It's a work in progress!" Duncan yelled back at him.

"Ugh, we're never gonna catch him at this rate." Scott complained.

"Look on the bright side, at least we don't see the other team." Zoey told her riding partner.

Mere seconds after Zoey had finished her thought, Anne Maria looked behind her and noticed a cloud of dust forming behind the team.

"Guys… What the hell is that?" Anne Maria asked, pointing at the oncoming dust cloud.

"That does not look good." Harold remarked as he turned around and saw the dust.

The cloud got closer until the dust shrouding it cleared and it was revealed that behind it was the wagon that the Editors had commandeered.

"Is that Shawn on the front of it?" Dave asked. "Jo too?"

"You have got to be kidding me…" Scott sighed.

"Um… On the bright side it's double trouble for Duncan." Zoey pointed out.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Duncan)**

"When Chris got me out of prison, I was relieved." Duncan told the audience. "Now I don't have to give my cellmate the money I owe him. But… I didn't expect riding a horse across a virtual desert would be one of the first things I'd do after getting out. I'm not complaining… It's just a little weird."

* * *

Within the carriage the Editors had stolen, Beth, Sky and Lightning were trying to hold on for the bumpy ride while various bottles from the shelves fell and smashed at their feet.

"Y'know, Lightning's startin' to think he'd be better off outside." Lightning remarked as he dodged a falling jar of yellow liquid.

"I gotta agree." Sky replied. "Maybe we should try climbing on to the roof."

"What?!" Beth exclaimed. "That sounds dangerous!"

A clay pot fell off a shelf and smashed right at Beth's feet.

"Then again, it's also dangerous in here!" Beth realized. "All right, to the roof!"

The scene shifted from the interior of the cart to the outside where Jo and Shawn sat in front of the horses.

"Can you at least have a bit of control!" Shawn exclaimed as he tried to hold on to the carriage without falling off.

"Hey! These aren't even my horses!" Jo angrily replied. "Give me a little credit for getting us this far."

"What do you think our chances of catching up to Duncan are?" Shawn asked.

"I'd rather not to think of it." Jo told him. "It throws off my concentration."

"I totally get that, bro." The duo heard Lightning say from behind them.

Shawn and Jo turned around to see the other half of the team standing on the wagon's roof behind them.

"Um… Hi." Beth awkwardly waved Jo.

"What are you doing? Get back in there!" Jo ordered. "It's dangerous up here!"

"Trust us, it's just as dangerous inside." Sky told her.

"Sha-yeah. It's ninety percent broken glass." Lightning added.

"All right, you can stay up." Jo replied. "But if you fall off, it's your own fault."

Up in the front of the chase, Zoey and Scott's horse was the closest to catching up with Duncan.

"Hey! I think we're close enough to hit him." Scott told Zoey. "Try to shoot him."

"What?" Zoey replied, sounding slightly nervous.

"I'd do it myself but I don't wanna lose control of the horse." Scott explained. "Now c'mon, do it."

"A-all right." Zoey said.

Zoey reached down to her holster and pulled out her gun.

"So where should I aim?" Zoey asked.

"How should I know?" Scott replied. "I think anywhere's a good spot to aim."

"If you say so." Zoey remarked.

Zoey aimed the pistol and Duncan and fired only to miss completely.

"Seriously? That's your best shot?" Scott asked.

"Hey! I've never done anything like this before." Zoey pointed out. "I mean, I guess there was that leech-ball challenge. But I think that's about it."

"Try again." Scott told her.

Zoey nodded and took aim once more. She pulled the trigger only to miss Duncan once more. After firing, Zoey accidentally let go of the gun and began fumbling around to try and keep it from falling off the horse.

"Whoa!" Zoey exclaimed.

In her attempts to grab her pistol, Zoey fell off the horse and hit the ground.

"Uh oh…" Scott trailed off.

Scott pulled the reins of his horse to get them to stop. However, he ended up pulling too hard and he was thrown for his horse causing him to land face first on the ground.

"Oh come on…." Scott weakly murmured.

The rest of the Writers, and their guide, stopped in front of the two fallen teammates.

"Are you guys gonna be all right?" Dave asked them.

"They fell of their horse. Whadda you think?" Anne Maria told Dave.

"Well, 'least your horse stopped." Rick remarked. "That's the silver linin' right there."

"Ow… My everything feels numb…" Zoey muttered as she stood up.

"How could this possibly get any worse?" Scott wondered.

After Scott finished his sentence, the Editors' wagon sped past his team.

"Dammit!" Scott exclaimed.

"Don't just stand there, get back on your horses." Leshawna told the two of them.

"Right." Zoey replied.

"If we hurry, we can still catch up with the other team." Harold tried to motivate them.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Anne Maria)**

"Is it me, or is this just the most bonkers season yet?" Anne Maria wondered. "Nah… The mutants were more bonkers. But only barely."

* * *

The scene focused on Duncan as he approached the entrance of an abandoned mine.

"All right, this seems like an interesting spot to hide." Duncan remarked.

Duncan looked behind him and saw that the carriage the Editors were writing approaching.

"Now seems like a good time to hide." Duncan stated.

He quickly ducked into the entrance of the mine.

Moments after he was gone, the wagon driven by the Editors stopped outside of the mine.

"Well, that wasn't so bad." Jo remarked as she got down from the cart.

"Yuck, Lightning thinks there's enough dust on him to fill a sandbox." Lightning said while climbing off the wagon.

"Same here." Beth agreed.

"You'll be less dusty when this thing is over." Jo told them. "Now c'mon, let's get into that mine. Pretty sure I saw him go in there."

"Right." Sky replied. "Let's go!"

The Editors entered the mine, leaving their carriage behind.

Once they were well inside the mine, the Writers stopped their horses outside with the now abandoned horses and wagon of the others.

"Made it!" Dave cheered.

"See, we didn't fall behind _that_ badly." Zoey said.

"Let's stop talkin' and start doin'." Leshawna told her team.

"What?" Rick asked.

"It means we should get into the mine." Leshawna replied.

Meanwhile, within the mine itself, Duncan ran along a rusted and broken mine cart track.

"Wow, this day has been way more fun than I thought it'd be." Duncan remarked.

Duncan came to a fork in the underground pathway with one tunnel going along the mine tracks and the other looking like it had caved in naturally.

"Hmm… Which way should I go?" Duncan wondered. "They won't expect me to go off the main path. So, that's the way I'm headed."

With that decision made, Duncan ran down the tunnel going off the tracks.

After Duncan had disappeared completely, the Editors ran onto the scene of the diverging paths.

"Crap, now Lightning's gotta make a choice." Lightning remarked. "He ain't so good at that."

Sky looked down at the ground and saw a set of footprints in the dirt leading down the path that looked like it caved in.

"That way." Sky told her team, pointing down the path the footprints led.

"Looks like Duncan didn't account for his feet betraying him." Jo remarked. "All right, let's go. And be sure to erase his footprints."

"Why?" Beth asked.

"That way the others don't catch up to us." Jo explained. "Now c'mon, we need to move it."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jo)**

"Was erasing Duncan's footprints to throw off the other team a cheap move?" Jo rhetorically asked. "Yes, yes it was. But sometimes cheap moves are the best moves."

* * *

After the Editors had gone down the naturally formed path, the Writers arrived on the scene.

"Oh come on, now where do we go?" Dave asked, sounding angry.

"Here's the plan, we split off into two groups." Harold instructed his team. "That way we cover more ground."

"Sounds like a plan." Zoey replied.

"Yeehaw!" Rick cheered. "Let's get that no good chicken legged rat."

"Yeah, that." Leshawna flatly said.

The team went in two directions with Zoey, Dave, and Harold going down the path following the mine tracks and Leshawna, Anne Maria, Scott, and Rick following the other path.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Leshawna)**

"Man, that cowboy guy who followed us around got real annoying after a while." Leshawna told the viewers.

* * *

Deeper within the mine, Duncan ran as fast as he could. He cast a glance over his shoulder.

"Y'know, I'm starting to think I may've lost both of them." Duncan remarked to himself. "That's a relief."

Duncan looked back ahead and saw he was about to run into a stone wall at the end of the tunnel.

"Whoa!" Duncan exclaimed as he tried to stop himself.

His attempts were in vain as he smashed directly into the wall.

"Ugh… Now I _really_ hope I lost them…" Duncan grouchily muttered. "Otherwise, I'm _pretty_ screwed back here."

"You sure are." A female voice from behind him commented.

"Crap…" Duncan trailed off as he slowly turned around to see the Editors standing a few feet away from him. "Uh, hold up, can't we talk?"

"You serious, bro?" Lightning asked.

"I, uh, well, let's just think of the moral implications of virtual-murdering someone." Duncan tried to talk his way out.

"You've got a point." Jo admitted.

"I do?" Duncan asked.

"Yeah." Jo replied. "Which is why I'm not aiming for you."

Jo took her pistol out of her holster and fired several bullets at the ceiling above Duncan. He looked up and saw the ceiling above him starting to shake.

"Well… That's not good…" Duncan realized.

Duncan began to run only for the ceiling to cave in and bury him in the process.

"Does that mean we won?" Shawn asked.

The members of the Editors began glowing a light shade of blue.

"Looks like it." Sky replied before her and the rest of the team were swallowed up by the light causing them to disappear.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Lightning)**

"Man, that stuff the mowhawk guy said about moral implications and all that has got Lightning confused." Lightning remarked. "Nah… I'm sure he was just stallin' for time."

* * *

Back in the real world, the contestants, and Duncan, came out of the machine together.

"What happened?" Zoey asked. "We were running through the mine and the challenge ended."

"I believe it means or team lost." Harold told her.

"You'd be right on that, Harold." Chris informed him. "Raving Writers, no riding into the sunset for you. Really, it's more driving into the sunset inside a limousine."

"Hey, McLean, can I get out of this stupid cowboy outfit now?" Duncan asked the host.

"Sure, the challenge is over." Chris told him.

"So, just checkin', we won, right?" Lightning asked.

"I thought that was obvious." Chris remarked. "Anyway, Chef still hasn't finished your next meal yet, so you've all got some free time to hang around."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Zoey)**

"On one hand, losing sucks because of all the obvious reasons." Zoey began. "But… On the other hand, it's a good chance to put my new alliance with Anne Maria to the test. Huh, never thought I'd be seeing myself on the same side as her."

* * *

Some time later, Shawn was walking through one of the abandoned studios by himself.

"Hmm… Seems like a good hiding place to me." Shawn said to himself. "And, I don't think I was followed."

"Nah, you totally were." A familiar voice from out of the conspiracy theorist's sight told him.

"Gah!" Shawn screeched in a high pitched tone. "Who's there!?"

Shawn whipped his body around and saw Lightning standing several feet away from him.

"Bro, chill, it's just Lightning." Lightning told him.

"What are you doing here?" Shawn asked.

"Lightning followed you." Lightning nonchalantly explained.

"Okay… But why?" Shawn continued to ask.

"Oh, Lightning just wanted to confirm our alliance." Lightning said.

"Huh? You're still on that?" Shawn remarked. "Sure, we're in an alliance now. Just please let me find a good place to sleep."

"You got it, bro." Lightning told him. "See ya later."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Shawn)**

"So... Uh, I don't really know what I just agreed to. I kinda just wanted him to leave me alone while I looked for somewhere to sleep in." Shawn confessed to the audience. "But… I may be able to use it to my advantage… Somehow."

* * *

Meanwhile, Dave and Scott were talking out behind one of the trailers together.

"Ugh, why are we out here?" Dave asked.

"To talk strategy." Scott explained.

"Yeah, but why _here_ specifically?" Dave clarified. "It smells like expired Thai food and a dead possum."

"Exactly." Scott replied. "The smell's to keep anyone from investigating back here."

"All right, that explains it… I guess." Dave said. "So what do you want to talk about?"

"Here's the plan for tonight's vote, both of us go for Zoey." Scott told his partner. "She messed up on the challenge, making her a bit of a target. Granted, I screwed up too, so you should probably use that idol of yours on Anne Maria seeing as her and Zoey have been getting pretty chummy and might vote together."

"All right, I guess that's the plan…" Dave replied, sounding like something else is on his mind.

"What's the matter?" Scott asked. "Your not planning on double crossing me, are you?"

"No! Of course not." Dave denied. "I'm just not sure how I feel about this. Zoey's a nice girl."

"Listen Dave, I've told you this before, this right here is the only way you'll make the merge." Scott told him. "And maybe even get back at that kind-of-girlfriend of yours."

"All right… I'll do it." Dave sighed.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Scott)**

"Everything's going according to plan." Scott chuckled to himself. "I'm laying low key, and I've got what I hope will be an obedient ally. Nothing can go wrong."

Scott leaned back to far and fell out of the chair.

"Ow!" Scott exclaimed. "Wow… This makeup room floor is surprisingly dirty… At least it's not the outhouse."

* * *

Later that night, the Writers had gathered in front of the stage Chris was on.

"Ah, Raving Writers, this is your second time in a row." Chris told the team. "How does it feel?"

"What do you think?" Leshawna asked, sounding less than impressed with the host.

"Fair enough." Chris replied. "Anyway, you all might wanna start with the voting."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Anne Maria)**

Anne Maria put a crossed out photograph of Scott in view of the camera.

"Me and Zoey agree that you're probably up to something." Anne Maria commented. "So, see ya, Scott."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Leshawa)**

Leshawna held up a picture of Dave with an X over it.

"It's not that I hate you or anything, but you just aren't pulling your weight." Leshawna remarked. "You just seem to be kinda extra to this team. No hard feelings."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Harold)**

"If I'm going to be honest, I'd be fine with voting for anyone other than myself or Leshawna." Harold admitted. "Scott seems pretty shady, Zoey caused us to fall behind in the challenge, and Dave and Anne Maria are pretty lackluster in terms of performance. Plus, I don't' feel as close to any of them as I do Leshawna. The only question is: Which to vote for."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Scott)**

Scott held a crossed over photo of Zoey to the camera.

"It's better you than me." Scott stated.

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Zoey)**

Zoey showed a picture of Scott with an X over it to the camera.

"To be honest, after some of the stuff you did the first time you were on this show, I don't feel _that_ bad about trying to get you out." Zoey said.

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Dave)**

Dave held up a picture of Zoey with an X on it.

"Look, I don't _hate_ Zoey, but Scott's the only ally I've got right now." Dave reasoned.

He groaned to himself.

"I wonder if it's too late to take back a vote?" Dave asked.

* * *

The scene changed to Chris back on stage in front of the Writers.

"So, the votes have been counted up." Chris informed the team. "The following-"

"H-hold on." Dave interrupted. "I, uh, I have something to do."

"Okay. This should be interesting." Chris remarked. "What is it?"

"Well, Uh, I'm… That's…" Dave stammered.

"Spit it out!" Scott yelled at him. "Um… Please."

"I'm using this idol on Anne Maria!" Dave quickly stated, sounding panicked, as he took his Stone Chris Bust out of his pocket.

"Give it here." Chris told Dave. "I need to verify it."

Dave threw the statue up on stage and Chris caught it. He spent a few moments looking at it before looking back to the audience.

"It's real everyone. So, that means I won't count Anne Maria's vote." Chris explained. "But, back to my original point: Leshawna and Harold, you two are the only members of your team to not have votes against you."

"Here ya go." Chef said as he tossed the two of them their Gilded Chris Awards.

The duo caught their awards.

"All right, I'm about to hand out two more awards." Chris explained. "If you get one, you're safe. Anyway, the two receivers here are…"

…

…

…

…

…

…

"…. Dave and Anne Maria!"

Chef threw them their awards.

"Heh, was gettin' a bit worried." Anne Maria admitted.

"All right, I have a singular Gilded Chris Award left." Chris stated. "And only one of you gets the honour of having it. And the final award goes to…"

…

…

…

…

…

…

"….. Scott!"

Chef chucked the final Gilded Chris award over to Scott.

"Thank you very much." Scott replied.

"Wait, what? I'm eliminated?" Zoey asked. "Seriously?"

"If it makes you feel any better, it would've been a tie if Dave didn't use his idol." Chris told her.

"No. Not really." Zoey replied.

"Uh, I don't know if this helps, but I'm really sorry." Dave added.

"Zoey, please head out to the Lame-O-Sine." Chris instructed her. "If it makes you feel any better, Duncan will be carpooling with you."

"Oh, all right. I'm pretty sure we're friends… A bit." Zoey replied before looking back at her team. "Well, bye guys."

"See ya later, red." Anne Maria bid her goodbye. "We should talk after the show."

"That'd be all right." Zoey remarked.

Zoey stood up from the bleachers and began walking down the red carpet. She entered the limo and saw Duncan already inside, still in his cowboy garb, sitting near the window across form her.

"Oh, so you got the axe?" Duncan observed after Zoey sat down. "That must suck."

"Yeah, it kinda does." Zoey admitted. "But at least I'll get to be with Mike now."

"Good for you." Duncan remarked before glancing back out the window.

"Hey, so, why are you still dressed like a cowboy?" Zoey asked.

"Huh? Oh, I didn't have time to change before I left." Duncan explained as he looked back at Zoey.

"Fair enough." Zoey replied. "So, anywhere you wanna go?"

"How 'bout a drive-thru?" Duncan suggested. "I haven't eaten dinner, and you probably want something to wash down whatever Chef's been feeding you. Plus, I've been eating prison food for a while so this should be a nice change of pace."

"Sure, works for me." Zoey said.

Duncan leaned in towards the front seat.

"Hey driver, find us a dirve-thru." Duncan told the driver.

The scene switched to the outside of the limousine as it drove away. Once it was gone, Chris walked up to where it once was.

"In the words of…. Uh… That one guy from that one band: Another one bites the dust." Chris awkawrdly told the audience. "Mangled pop culture references aside, the numbers on these teams have evened out. How much will this effect gameplay? I don't know, but you certainly will, next time on Total. Drama. Winners!"

* * *

 **Votes:**

Anne Maria - Scott (Vote Removed by Chris Statue)

Dave - Zoey

Harold - Anne Maria

Leshawna - Dave

Scott - Zoey

Zoey - Scott

 **Results:**

Zoey - 2 Votes

Scott - 2 Votes (1 Removed by Chris Statue)

Dave - 1 Vote

Anne Maria - 1 Vote

 **Eliminated:**

Mike, the Nice Guy (18th Place)

Max, the Super Villain (17th Place)

Lindsay, the Dumb Princess (16th Place)

Geoff, the Funnest Guy Around (15th Place)

Sugar, the Pageant Queen (14th Place)

Jasmine, the Outback Survivialist (13th Place)

Owen, the Party Animal (12th Place)

Zoey, the Indie Chick (11th Place)

* * *

 **Random fact, this is the first challenge to be based on a general genre rather than a specific movie since chapter four. I don't know why I felt the need to state that, it just seemed fun. It's also a lot shorter than all the other chapters (At least I think it is). I had fun writing this one, as usual, and I hope you had fun reading it, also as usual. Also, if you're wondering why I eliminated Zoey, I have nothing against the character, but I already have plans all the other characters still competing in the story. Sorry if you liked Zoey, but you'll see more of her in the Aftermath chapters. Anyway, thanks for reading.**


	11. Deep Blue Screams

**This is the shortest chapter I've written so far, and I think I'm okay with it. Looking back, a lot of the previous chapter I've written were a bit too long. I don't have much to say to preface this one. So please enjoy the rest of this chapter.**

* * *

"Last time, on Total Drama Winners, our contestants ventured west in a bounty hunting challenge." Footage of the Writers riding across the virtual desert on their horses played. "Whose bounty? Duncan's of course. He actually had more fun that he probably should've now that I think about it…" A clip of Duncan fleeing from the other teams on horseback was shown next. "Anyway, in the end, the Editors won and sent the Writers to the chopping block for a second time in a row. Who did they get rid of? Everyone's favourite red headed cutie: Zoey!" A clip of Zoey and Duncan driving away in their limousine played.

The footage changed to Chris walking down the sidewalk outside the studio.

"Was it weird for me to call Zoey cute when I'm thirty and she's like, seventeen right now?" Chris wondered. "Probably. Uh, anyway, let's move on from that and watch the show. Stick around to watch some, Total. Drama. Winners!"

* * *

 **(Theme Song)**

* * *

One early morning, both teams were in the film lot cafeteria trying their best to enjoy several plates of slightly burnt waffles prepared by Chef. The camera focused on the table occupied by the Writers.

"Blah, not only are these waffles burnt, but they're also cold." Dave noticed. "Man, Chef really did think of everything."

"He didn't even give us maple syrup." Harold added.

"We could ask for some." Leshawna pointed out.

"Oh yeah, like that'd end well." Scott remarked.

"Hey, maybe he won't say no." Dave optimistically said. "Who am I kidding… He will."

"Y'know what, I'll do it." Anne Maria volunteered. "But I'm gonna need some pepper."

"Great plan, throw it in his eyes and take the syrup while he's blinded." Scott said.

"No ya big dumbo, I'm usin' it to make my own eyes watery." Anne Maria clarified, sounding annoyed. "That way he feels sorry for me and hands over the maple juice."

"Huh, that's actually kind of a good idea." Dave remarked. "Wait, did you just call syrup maple juice? Who says that?"

"I do. Now if ya excuse me, I'm gonna get some syrup." Anne Maria proclaimed.

She grabbed a pepper shaker off the table and began walking towards Chef.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Anne Maria)**

"'Kay, so I figure Dave and Scotty boy are workin' together and I'm next on their hit list." Anne Maria told the camera. "But, if I make the rest of my team like me, there ain't no target painted on my back anymore."

* * *

The scene shifted focus to the Editors at their table.

"Hooray… More bland breakfast food…" Jo sighed as she poked around at her meal.

"To be honest, this is actually better than what Chef made in season one." Beth admitted. "Of course… That's not saying too much."

Sky glanced over at the other table.

"Huh, they look like they're enjoying their waffles." Sky noted.

"Looks like they're drowning their waffles in syrup." Shawn observed.

"Sha-damn. Why do they get maple syrup and we don't?" Lightning asked. "Not cool."

"We could just go ask for some." Beth pointed out.

"How about you do it?" Jo suggested to Beth.

"What?" Beth asked. "Why me."

"Well, out of everyone on this team, you do look the most sympathetic." Sky pointed out.

"Oh, well, thank you." Beth replied. "I'm flattered."

"Great. Now go ask for their syrup." Jo told her.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Beth)**

"Huh, maybe some of my team does respect me after all." Beth remarked.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Lightning)**

"Beth ain't good for much." Lightning told the audience. "But, havin' someone cute and sympathetic on your team does help. Not very often though… And the cute part is debatable… What was Lightning tryin' to say?"

* * *

The scene flashed forward to later with Anne Maria standing outside the trailers and applying her spray tan.

"Ah, there we go…" Anne Maria happily sighed. "Gotta keep up appearances."

Leshawna and Harold approached the spot Anne Maria was tanning.

"Hey, mind doin' that somewhere else?" Leshawna asked. "I think the wall behind you's getting' dyed."

"I concur. There's a perfectly good dressing room." Harold pointed out.

"I can use that for tanning?" Anne Maria asked. "Sweet. I thought that was just for talkin' to the camera. See ya."

Anne Maria walked away.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Shawn)**

Shawn enters the makeup room and almost sits down, but stops himself before doing so.

"What the- Why's the seat here tinted orange?" Shawn wondered. "Hmm… Do orange zombies exist?"

* * *

Meanwhile, Sky and Jo were walking through one of the abandoned movie sets.

"Man, this place is a dump." Jo observed.

"I bet Chris set this season here 'cause he spent the entire budget on the virtual reality stuff." Sky speculated.

"That seems like him." Jo agreed.

"Y'know, I just realized we're getting pretty close to the merge." Sky noted.

"You think?" Jo asked.

"Well, yeah, there are only ten contestants left." Sky pointed out.

"Hmm… You're right." Jo realized. "We'd better talk about our post-merge strategy."

"Right now?" Sky asked. "I was kind of enjoying the morning air."

"Well too bad." Jo said. "We have to start strategizing before-"

Before Jo could finish her sentence, the scene switched to a close up of the film lot's loud speakers.

"How is everyone doing?" Chris began his morning announcements, cutting off Jo in the process. "I hope you all like water 'cause there's gonna be a lot of it in this challenge. What am I talking about you may ask? Well, come on down to studio eight and you'll see! Bye!"

The speakers cut out and the scene changed back to Jo and Sky.

"Before that happens…" Jo finished her thought.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sky)**

"Me and Jo have a surprisingly strong alliance." Sky remarked. "I can't really think of anyone on my team who's able to pose a threat to us. It feels pretty good to be on top… Uh oh, I hope I'm not getting too cocky."

* * *

The camera then switched over to later with the teams arriving in the studio with the virtual reality machines where Chef and Chris were already waiting.

"Ah, how are you today?" Chris asked. "Ready for more movie madness?"

"I mean, I actually had fun in the last two." Beth said. "So yeah."

"That's the news I like to hear." Chris replied.

"So what're you making us do this time?" Dave asked.

"I'm glad you said that too." Chris told him. "Has anyone here seen the film 'Jaws'."

"No!" Scott screamed.

"Well… That was interesting." Chris remarked.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Scott)**

"I haven't actually seen Jaws." Scott admitted. "But I know there's a shark involved. And me and sharks… We have… A history."

* * *

"Um, anyway, our challenge is based off of Jaws." Chris told the teams. "The goal is the same as in the movie. Both of you will be playing teams of shark hunters and whichever shark hunting team kills the shark first, wins."

"That sounds kinda hard." Sky remarked.

"Oh, it can't be much harder than killing a lion." Chris sarcastically replied.

"Very funny." Jo flatly told him.

"Glad you enjoy my sense of humour." Chris said. "Anywho, since this challenge is pretty straightforward and there isn't much else to explain: Get in to that machine."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Beth)**

"Shark hunting… Not really my thing. It's not most people's thing actually." Beth said. "But I was sure the rest of my team could handle it."

* * *

Inside the virtual world, the Writers found themselves awaking on a docked boat.

"Hmm? Now where are we?" Dave wondered.

"I'm pretty sure the movie took place in Maine." Harold replied.

"Hey, uh, I have an idea." Scott suggested. "How about you all go out on the water, and I'll stay back here and help."

"How could you help from the mainland?" Leshawna pointed out.

"That's a fair point." Scott admitted.

"Look, we're not going out on the water yet." Harold told him. "First, we're taking inventory of our boat's supplies to make sure we're properly stocked to fight a great white shark."

"How'd they kill the shark in the movie again?" Anne Maria asked.

"From what I remember, they blew it up." Harold replied.

"Well, that'd kill most things." Anne Maria said.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Dave)**

"I was really hoping we'd do well in this challenge." Dave told the camera. "Not for my sake, but because if we lost, It'd definitely be Scott getting the boot this time… Although, I guess I could _try_ to team up with someone like Anne Maria if that happened. Not sure how it'd go over."

* * *

Elsewhere on the docks, the Editors awoke in the virtual world on a different boat.

"Sha-cool, we got a boat." Lightning realized as he took a look around.

"Well, typically you need that if you're hunting a shark." Jo told him.

"Lightning wonders if our boat has a mini-fridge with sodas." Lightning remarked.

"We need to focus on more important things." Sky said. "Like shark hunting."

"Sounds like this is gonna be a tough challenge." Beth commented.

"Don't worry. It can't be much harder than zombie hunting." Shawn told her. "… Okay, now that I say it out loud, I realize that didn't help."

"All right, here's the plan, me, Sky, and Beth, we'll see what we've got on this boat." Jo instructed. "Shawn, Lightning, go into the town and see if there's anything that might help shark hunting that you can buy. And if you don't have money, steal it."

"Isn't stealing, you know, against the law?" Lightning pointed out,

"It doesn't count if it's in a virtual world." Jo told him.

"All right man, you're the boss." Lightning replied.

The scene shifted back over to the Writers on their boat.

"Okay, so we found some lifejackets, a first aid kit, and a harpoon gun above deck." Harold informed his team.

"Did the rest of you find anything below?" Leshawna asked.

"We found some dynamite and radio stuff downstairs." Anne Maria replied. "I'd say we're packed up enough for shark huntin'."

"A-are you sure?" Scott nervously asked. "How about some snacks? We can't leave here without snacks."

"We can't taste things. This is virtual, remember?" Leshawna pointed out.

"Please just don't make me go out on the water!" Scott begged sounding more frantic. "I don't do well with sharks!"

* * *

 **(Confessional: Leshawna)**

"Wow… I think that's the most pathetic I've seen Scott be." Leshawna remarked. "I kinda felt bad for the guy."

* * *

"Scott, calm down." Dave told him.

"You're right, I'm freaking out." Scott admitted. "All that's there is a shark… With all it's endless teeth… And mouth that could swallow me whole… Nope! I want out!"

Scott began running towards the land and away from the boat. However, he was abruptly stopped when Anne Maria grabbed on to his wrist.

"Ah, stop bein' such a pansy. It ain't even a real shark." Anne Maria pointed out.

"It seems real enough to me." Scott argued.

"Look, we don't have enough time to talk about this." Leshawna told him.

"Agreed. Now come on, let's get out on that water." Harold said.

Meanwhile, Shawn and Lightning entered a bait shop together.

"Why are we in here?" Shawn asked Lightning.

"Duh, ya can't fish for sharks without any bait." Lightning replied. "It's just logic, bro."

"Oh boy…" Shawn trailed off, anticipating a bad result. "This should be fun."

The two boys approached the counter of the bait shop.

"Yo, fisherman dude. What kinda bait do you wanna catch a shark with?" Lightning asked the man behind a counter.

"What? Could you repeat that?" The man behind the counter requested. "It sounded like you said 'Shark'."

"That's 'cause Lightning did." Lightning explained. "Now, what kinda bait do I use on sharks."

"Uh… I guess smaller fish." The man told him.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Shawn)**

"Lightning isn't a bad person exactly… But… Yeah, I dunno, he really isn't someone I wanna be involved with right now." Shawn stated.

* * *

Meanwhile, back on the Editors' boat, the three girls were talking.

"All right, we've got explosives and a harpoon gun." Jo recapped to her team. "One of those should be enough to kill a shark."

"How do you know?" Beth asked.

"Uh, I don't." Jo admitted. "But it certainly sounds at least semi-scientific."

"That's not exactly reassuring." Sky told her.

"Don't worry, everything's gonna be fine." Jo insisted. "All that's left to do before we leave is wait for Lightning and Shawn to come back."

"Yo! Over here!" Lightning's voice called over to the rest of his team from out of view.

The three girls looked over and saw Lightning and Shawn approaching them carrying two buckets of fish.

"I just want to say that this fish thing was his idea." Shawn stated.

"Dude at the shop said this'd make good shark bait." Lightning explained.

"Um… All right then." Jo remarked. "Let's just go. Who here wants to drive?"

"Don't worry, I know how to pilot a boat." Shawn told her. "Zombies can't swim so a boat's one of the best places to be in the apocalypse."

"Uh huh… Right." Jo replied.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jo)**

"I do not get what Jasmine sees in that guy." Jo commented.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the Writers, the team had begun to go out to sea with Harold at the helm of the small boat. Dave and Scott were nowhere to be seen.

"So who here wants to bet Scott's gonna be eaten by the shark first?" Anne Maria joked.

"Hey, where is that guy anyway?" Leshawna wondered.

"He went below deck." Harold explained. "Dave's keeping an eye on him."

"Is that a good idea?" Anne Maria asked. "Ain't they working together or something?"

"That is true." Harold admitted. "But he was the first to volunteer."

"One of us should check up on them." Leshawna remarked.

Meanwhile, below deck, Scott lay down on a couch and Dave sat across from him on a wooden chair.

"Ya don't think a shark could break through the floor, could it?" Scott wondered.

"Let's change topics." Dave suggested.

"Good idea." Scott agreed. "What do you wanna talk about?"

"Do you think the other two idols are still out there?" Dave wondered. "I kinda hope so. I feel like I might've wasted the one I had."

"What are you talking about?" Scott asked. "You didn't waste it. You saved me."

"Yeah… I guess just feel bad about eliminating Zoey. She never did anything to deserve it." Dave said.

"It's not about her deserving it, it's about her getting between us and a million dollars." Scott replied.

Just then, Anne Maria descended into the lower deck.

"Hey ya, just checkin' in." Anne Maria greeted the duo. "How's it going."

"As well as it can be for someone like me with a severe fear of sharks." Scott asked.

"So not well?" Anne Maria asked.

"He's seen better." Dave stated.

"Well, just wanted to check." Anne Maria said. "Makin' sure nothing suspicious is goin' down. Well bye."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Scott)**

"Okay, she needs to go down next if we lose again." Scott told the audience.

* * *

Over on the Editors, the team had begun to sail out to sea with Shawn piloting their boat.

"And you're absolutely sure you know what you're doing?" Jo asked him.

"Yes, I know how to captain this ship." Shawn irritably insisted. "Stop asking."

"It's really less of a ship and more of a boat." Beth pointed out.

"We can talk terminology later." Shawn said. "Right now, we need to find where this shark likes to hide out…. Wait, do we even have a map?"

"Uh oh…" Sky trailed off. "Quick, everyone, look for a map."

The other four members of the team dashed off, leaving Shawn alone.

"Y'know, maybe a few moments of peace and quiet won't be so bad." Shawn remarked as he let out a sigh.

Shawn's peace was abruptly interrupted when Lightning came up to him carrying a model globe.

"Yo, zombie boy, Lightning found a map!" Lightning excitedly announced.

"Uh… That's great." Shawn replied. "Now try finding something… More local."

"Great plan. That's why you're the brains of this alliance." Lightning said. "Well, so is Lightning. But we can have two brains."

Lightning ran to elsewhere on the ship again.

"Y'know, maybe this won't be so bad." Shawn remarked. "I mean, he's strong, and he doesn't seem like he'd obstruct me too badly."

Beth went over to Shawn carrying a folded up map.

"Good news Shawn, I found a map that I think might work." Beth told him. "It says Amity Island. That's where the movie's 'sposed to be, right?"

"I think so." Shawn replied.

"Great." Beth said. "You drive, I'll navigate."

"You know how to read a map?" Shawn asked.

"Uh… Well… It can't be _too_ hard to pick up on." Beth told him.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Beth)**

"I feel like people underestimate me." Beth remarked. "Which is fair, I look very small. But when the situation needs it, I can really come in handy."

* * *

Meanwhile, back on the Writers, Harold had continued to drive with Leshawna and Anne Maria looking over him.

"So, what'd Dave and Scott have to say?" Leshawna asked Anne Maria.

"They were definitely talkin' 'bout something before I came down there." Anne Maria told her. "Didn't catch what but it sure seemed like they were schemin'."

"We should all agree to vote him out if we lose." Leshawna suggested. "The more him and Dave hang out the less I trust him."

"I agree with you there." Harold remarked. "Scott and Dave were definitely involved in getting rid of Zoey."

At that moment, Dave walked over to the other three.

"Hey guys, what are you talking about?" Dave asked.

"Uh, not you, that's for sure." Anne Maria replied.

"Um…. Okay." Dave said.

"So, uh, how's Scott feeling." Leshawna asked.

"He's still going on about how much he doesn't like sharks." Dave explained. "Something about a mutant one not liking him or something. It's really weird. Hey, speaking of which, any shark sightings yet?"

"None so far." Harold replied. "But we're keeping our eyes out."

"Does this thing have sonar?" Dave asked. "That might speed things up."

"You know, we didn't actually check." Harold admitted. "I was in a hurry to get out on the water."

"Well, maybe now's a good time to check." Dave suggested.

"I'll take care of it." Leshawna said.

Leshawna grabbed a chair from nearby and pulled it up a to a panel of buttons near the steering wheel of the boat.

"Okay… None of these are labelled sonar." Leshawna observed.

"Ah c'mon, how hard can it be. Just press all the buttons 'til something good happens." Anne Maria suggested.

"Yeah… Not doing that." Leshawna flatly told Anne Maria. "Seems like a _very weird_ process of thought."

"Jeez, just tryin' to help." Anne Maria defensively replied.

Leshawna looked over the buttons and after a few moments she cautiously pressed a purple coloured button. Several lights on the panel and a screen showing a radar turned on.

"Okay, now we've got sonar." Leshawna remarked. "That should help."

"Great, I'll go back down now." Dave told the other. "Wanna make sure Scott hasn't flipped out and broken anything."

"How 'bout I check it out, hmm?" Anne Maria suggested. "You'll really like the view up here."

"Well… If you say so." Dave replied.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Dave)**

"I probably shouldn't have let those two talk. Especially after we got rid of Zoey." Dave admitted. "But I didn't want to look suspicious or anything like that."

* * *

Elsewhere, on the Editors' boat, the five of them continued to sail through the water in search of sharks.

"Man, Lightning feels like we're goin' nowhere." Lightning complained.

"Yeah, I feel like he's right." Beth added. "I haven't seen a single shark… Although, I'm kinda glad about that."

"Well, we can't win if there's no shark." Sky remarked. "Jo, what's the map Beth found say?"

"Let me check…" Jo muttered and she unfolded the map. "Hmm, if we left from here that would mean… Looks like we're going towards some kind of island right now."

Sky leans in to get a better look at the map.

"It also looks like someone drew 'Danger, Shark' in red pen all around the island." Sky noted, pointing at the map.

"What the-" Jo suddenly noticed the writing. "Man, I feel like an idiot for missing that."

"So… We should go _away_ from the island. Not towards it, right?" Beth asked.

"Well, no, if we want a shark, we have to go there." Sky reasoned.

"That's fair…" Beth admitted. "Shark island it is…"

Out of nowhere, the boat was hit by something from the bottom, causing the vessel to shake and the team inside it to collectively jolt.

"Looks like shark island found us…" Shawn nervously trailed off. "Yay…"

"Calm down." Sky told him. "Maybe it was just a really big piece of driftwood we accidentally hit."

Whatever hit them bumped into them from below again.

"That don't sound like driftwood to Lightning." Lightning remarked. "Lightning's gonna grab the harpoon."

"Yeah, that is _definitely_ a shark." Jo agreed. "Come on, I'll get the explosives. Let's see if we can make this challenge go by quick."

"You have fun with that." Shawn told her. "I'm gonna try to keep us from sinking if you don't mind."

Lightning grabbed a nearby harpoon gun from the corner and Jo rushed to the lower deck of the ship in search of explosives.

"I'm gonna go find a place to hide so I don't get ripped to shreds by a killer shark." Beth stated.

"Pfft, wuss." Lightning remarked.

"I'll make sure _you_ don't get killed." Sky told Lightning.

Lightning approached the front of the boat and looked for any sign of the shark.

"Ha, Lightning bets he scared off the shark already." Lightning boasted.

His celebration was cut short when he saw the fin of a shark stick up from the water.

"Aw man, almost thought Lightning had it." Lightning said. "Oh well, long metal thingy, don't fail."

Lightning shot his harpoon in the direction of the shark only to have it miss completely.

"Sha-dammit!" Lightning exclaimed. "This must be how Captain Arman felt."

"It's Captain Ahab." Sky corrected.

"That's exactly what Lightning said." Lightning replied. "Now c'mon, less talking and more shooting. Lightning needs to reel his thingy back in."

"Be careful not to impale yourself when you do that." Sky told him. "I'm not even joking."

"Psht, Lightning know's what he's doing." Lightning casually replied as he began to pull the harpoon back in.

Jo ran on to the scene carrying several sticks of dynamite and a matchbox.

"All right, I'm here." Jo said as she began attempting to light one of the matches.

Just then, the shark rammed itself into the side of the boat, shaking it. The shaking caused Jo to drop her dynamite and match and made Lightning drop the harpoon he had just finished reeling in.

"Whoa!" Lightning exclaimed as he narrowly dodged the harpoon.

"Dammit, let me try again…" Jo muttered as she picked up a stick of dynamite and the matchbox.

Jo lit the match and used that to light the fuse of the dynamite.

"Here goes nothing." Jo remarked.

She threw the stick of dynamite out at the water towards the shark. The dynamite landed in the water and didn't explode.

"You know…. It's just now occurring to me that explosives that you have to _light_ probably aren't the best thing to bring out to sea." Jo realized.

"Let's turn around the boat and come up with a better plan." Sky suggested.

"Sha-yeah, Lightning's harpoon aim needs work." Lightning agreed.

Sky ran over to Shawn.

"Hey, Shawn, let's we've agreed that we need to get out of here." Sky told him.

"Well, I'm sure Beth will be happy to hear that." Shawn replied. "All right, I'm going to start turning us around."

"Where is Beth anyway?" Sky asked.

"Probably below deck." Shawn replied. "That's where I'd hide."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Beth)**

"Look, I've had experience with sharks on this show before." Beth told the audience. "The first thing Chris made us do was jump off a cliff into a lake full of sharks. Okay fine, _I_ didn't do that part. But it still looked very scary. The point is, I didn't really wanna spend time with the shark in this challenge."

* * *

Meanwhile, on the Writers boat, Harold and Leshawna were busy navigating while Dave was up at the front of the boat. The camera focused on Leshawna.

"So… Um… Leshawna, I have a question." Harold told her.

"What is it this time?" Leshawna responded, sounding slightly annoyed. "You are gonna try to ask me out again, are you?"

"Well, I, um, in a way… Maybe." Harold quietly mumbled.

"So, yes?" Leshawna asked.

"Yes." Harold sheepishly admitted. "It's just, don't you remember all the good times we had?"

"Yeah, I guess we did have fun." Leshawna admitted.

"So does that mean you'd like to get back together?" Harold asked.

"I never said that." Leshawna told him. "I mean, I guess I do remember why I liked you to begin with… I'm sorry, this is moving too fast can we change topics."

"Oh, right, sure." Harold said. "That's probably for the best."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Leshawna)**

"All right, fine, I admit it, I've still got a thing for Harold." Leshawna told the audience. "But… I dunno, I'm just afraid of how it'd turn out in the end. I don't think I'll go for it."

* * *

Meanwhile, below deck, Scott and Anne Maria were sitting across from each other.

"So… Still petrified by fear?" Anne Maria asked.

"Yes, very petrified." Scott replied. "Why are you down here anyway? Where's Dave?

"He's on lookout duty." Anne Maria explained. "What's the matter? It ain't like you two were plotting anything, right?"

"Well, not yet." Scott responded before realizing what he had just said. "Uh, I mean, no! Of course not."

"Right…" Anne Maria murmured, sounding unconvinced. "So, you gonna help out in this challenge or are you gonna hang out down here like a coward."

"The latter." Scott replied.

"Well, at least you're honest." Anne Maria remarked. "But, if the shark breaks a hole in this boat, you're gonna be one of the first to drown down here."

"Wait, what!? Oh my gosh, you're right!" Scott realized. "Okay, going above deck it is."

The scene switched to out on the deck of the ship with Dave standing on the front.

"Huh… I don't see any sharks." Dave remarked. "Maybe we're in the wrong spot."

Just then, Scott walked up to him.

"Hey Dave, see anything?" Scott asked.

"Fortunately for you, it's been uneventful." Dave told him.

"Thank god." Scott replied. "Just to be safe I'm gonna hover over by Harold. It's probably a safe bet to be with our boat's unofficial captain."

"Don't they say 'The captain always goes down with the ship'?" Dave pointed out.

"Grr! Is everywhere on this stupid boat a deathtrap!" Scott angrily yelled.

Dave rolled his eyes and glanced back out to the water only to see the fin of a shark.

"Uh… I think you might wanna go somewhere else, Scott." Dave told him.

"Why would I…" Scott began before looking over and seeing the shark. "Shark! Shark! Somebody get it away!"

Scott ran in to the area where Leshawna and Harold were navigating.

"What did you say?" Leshawna asked.

"You need to steer this boat away from the oncoming shark!" Scott exclaimed.

"Oh, that's what the sonar was picking up." Leshawna remarked.

"Got it, heading towards the shark." Harold said.

"What?! No! Get away from it!" Scott panicked. "Why is nobody listening?"

"Scott, we have to kill it if we want the challenge to end." Leshawna explained.

"Well, if you need me, I'll be curled up under a chair in fear." Scott told her.

Scott dropped his body to the ground and crawled under a nearby chair.

"Thanks for the help." Leshawna sarcastically replied.

Anne Maria entered the area carrying several sticks of dynamite.

"Hey, any of you bozos have a match?" Anne Maria asked. "Ya can't really blow up a shark if you aren't able to light the fuse."

"Here." Scott replied, pushing over a matchbox on the floor. "Blow that shark up good."

"Don't worry, I already gave Dave the harpoon." Anne Maria told him. "Huh… Now that I think about it that might've not been a good idea."

Meanwhile, out at the front of the ship, Dave was attempting to aim his harpoon gun at the shark approaching the boat.

"All right… Steady… Steady…" Dave nervously told himself.

Suddenly, Anne Maria ran up behind him.

"All right, guess who's got the dynamite!" Anne Maria announced.

"Gah!" Dave exclaimed at the sudden surprise, firing the harpoon the process.

Miraculously, the harpoon hit the shark which began attempting to swim away.

"Hey, I got it." Dave remarked in disbelief.

The shark began swimming away quicker and Dave started struggling to hold the harpoon.

"The question is can I hold the shark…" Dave nervously trailed off.

"Ah Jeez, lemme help." Anne Maria remarked as she placed down the dynamite and matches. "Y'see it's all in the hips."

Anne Maria went behind Dave and grabbed the harpoon gun with him. She began to pull.

"Wow… This is one damn strong shark…" Anne Maria muttered.

"I told you." Dave replied.

"Scott!" Anne Maria called out. "Can ya help us out here!"

"No thank you!" Scott shouted back from out of view.

"C'mon, we're about to get pulled in here!" Anne Maria pleaded. "Ya don't want that on your conscience, do ya!?"

"All right, fine, I'm coming!" Scott replied. "But if I get eaten, it's your fault!"

Scott ran out to his teammates and grabbed on to the harpoon gun with the other two.

"This'd better work." Scott remarked.

Their collective pulling worked and caused the harpoon to dislodge from the shark and fly towards them.

"Ah!" Anne Maria screamed.

The harpoon went straight through her large hairdo and hit the floor behind her.

"Dang it, the shark's getting away." Dave remarked as he looked over and noticed the shark swimming away.

"Good." Scott said.

"Hmm… Looks like we wounded it though." Dave remarked as he saw a trail of blood in the water. "And we can follow it."

"Oh… Great…" Scott nervously trailed off.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Scott)**

"Y'know, I hoped that this challenge would help me get over my fear of sharks." Scott told the audience. "But if anything, I feel like it's made it worse."

* * *

Meanwhile, on the Editors boat, Shawn steered the ship with Sky working as navigator.

"See any sharks yet?" Shawn asked.

"No. But I think we're getting closer to the ominously marked island." Sky told him.

"Huh, normally that'd be a bad thing." Shawn remarked.

Lightning walked into the room.

"Yo, tiny girl, let Lightning have a turn with the map." Lightning requested.

"Why?" Sky asked.

"'Cause Lightning thinks it'll be fun." Lightning explained. "C'mon, please."

"All right. I guess I could use a break." Sky admitted. "You can have the map. Just don't break anything."

"Psht, Lighting won't." Lightning replied.

Sky handed her map to Lightning and left the area.

"So Shawn, if we lose who do you think we should take out?" Lightning asked.

"Probably Jo. She's been helping our team out, but the merge is soon and when that happens she'll only want to look out for herself." Shawn told him.

"What about Beth though." Lightning suggested.

"Beth? She's a nice girl. Why her?" Shawn asked.

"That's just it, bro. She's not useful in the challenge but she's stuck around this long." Lightning said. "We can't let her hang around any more. It's part of her strategy. She wants to get far by playing harmless."

"Or… Maybe you're just being paranoid." Shawn suggested.

"Psht, you're one to talk, zombie boy." Lightning replied.

"Fair point." Shawn admitted. "So Lightning, what's the map say?"

"Hmm… Well, short girl wrote down where the last shark attack was." Lightning said. "And if we kept goin' in a straight line…. That'd put us pretty close to that creepy island."

"The one that has the shark warning added on in red ink?" Shawn asked.

"It's the only island on the map. So yeah." Lightning told him.

"Well, at least it's not zombies." Shawn remarked.

Meanwhile, out on the front of the ship, Beth, Sky, and Jo kept the lookout together.

"See anything yet?" Beth asked.

"No. Stop asking." Jo told her. "If I saw something, you'd know."

"Hey Jo, what are we going to do with all those explosives?" Sky asked. "They're going to keep going out whenever we throw them in to the water."

"Maybe we could get the shark to eat it by covering it with those fish Lightning bought." Jo suggested.

Beth and Sky gave Jo a confused look.

"Look, I'm trying my best here, okay." Jo told them.

Sky looked back out to the water.

"Hey, I think I see something out there." Sky remarked.

"What is it?" Beth asked.

"It looks like… Another boat." Sky told her. "You don't think that's the other team do you?"

"It probably is." Jo remarked. "How many other people on boats could be out here right now?"

"Well, it's the ocean, so probably a lot." Beth told her.

"True." Jo admitted. "But let's get closer just in case."

"I don't think we have to." Sky stated. "It looks like they're coming towards us actually."

"Okay, then it's _definitely_ the other team." Jo said.

The boat Sky spotted drew closer to the team.

"Hey!" Jo called out to the boat. "Whoever's there, say who you are!"

There was no response from the other boat.

"Huh, maybe they can't hear us." Sky remarked.

The boat drew closer to reveal Anne Maria and Dave standing on the front of it.

"Oh hey there." Dave greeted the other team. "So that's who this boat belongs to."

"What brought you over here?" Beth asked.

"Uh, no reason." Anne Maria replied, sounding suspicious.

"Yeah, we just thought the shark might be in this general area for no reason in particular." Dave added, sounding equally suspicious.

"All right, what's the real reason you're here?" Jo asked.

"We wounded the shark and were following its blood trail this way." Dave sheepishly explained.

"Wait, so it's close to us?" Beth asked.

"Yeah, but we lost the trail so we're not exactly sure _how_ close." Anne Maria said.

"Are you lying about that too?" Jo asked.

"Unfortunately, we're telling the truth there." Dave replied. "We've lost the trail."

"And thank god for that!" Scott shouted from out of view.

"So he still doesn't like sharks, huh?" Jo remarked.

"Well, it's been good running in to you, well not really, but we should probably split up now." Sky suggested.

"Good idea. I don't want to hang around too long either." Dave replied.

"Hey, is that the shark you were looking for?" Beth asked, pointing out to the left of both teams.

The contestants looked over where Beth pointed and saw the fin of the shark heading towards them.

"You have got to be kidding me…." Dave trailed off in fear.

"All right everyone, Code Red!" Jo announced to her team. "Everyone grab your weapons. And Beth, don't just run away."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sky)**

"You know, I was able to have a short conversation where Dave was present without it devolving into an argument. That's pretty good." Sky remarked. "Huh… I feel like my standards for 'Pretty Good' are kinda low."

* * *

The scene changed to the inside of the Writers' captaining area as Anne Maria ran in.

"All right, do y'all see the shark?" Anne Maria asked.

"I'm on sonar, so yeah." Leshawna replied.

"Quick! Where's all the stuff you can use to kill it?" Anne Maria asked.

"Dave moved all the explosives below deck and Scott's guarding the harpoon… I think." Leshawna said.

Anne Maria looked to her left and saw Scott in a corner clutching the harpoon gun tightly.

"This is my way of contributing." Scott stated.

"Sheesh, gimme that thing." Anne Maria ordered Scott as she took the harpoon gun from him. "Do you have any idea how sad this looks?"

"I do." Scott admitted. "I just don't want to do anything about it."

"Ugh, I'll go get Dave to get the explosives." Anne Maria remarked.

Anne Maria exited the captaining area.

"Seriously Scott, are you going to help _at all_?" Leshawna asked.

"Having another pair of hands would be useful." Harold agreed.

"No thank you, I'd rather keep all my organs on the inside of my body." Scott replied.

Meanwhile, at the helm of the Editors' boat, Beth entered looking frantic.

"Guys! The shark's here!" Beth exclaimed in a panic.

"Take over for Lightning, girl." Lightning told her. "Lightning can handle this."

"Uh, don't you think you should come up with an actual plan first?" Shawn asked.

"Good point." Lightning admitted before turning to Beth. "Okay, give Lightning a few moments to think, and _then_ take over."

"Can someone please give me a weapon of some kind?" Beth requested. "This is a bit of an emergency!"

"Take this." Shawn told her, grabbing the previously used harpoon gun out from under his chair. "Dave wanted me to store it here."

"Thanks." Beth said as she took the gun. "I sure hope this thing is easy to use."

Beth exited the area.

"So Lightning, what _is_ your plan anyway?" Shawn asked.

"Dunno." Lightning replied. "Maybe that shark bait we bought might come in handy."

"So you have no idea." Shawn said.

"No, Lightning has several ideas. But he don't know which to choose." Lightning stated. "Yeah, that's it."

Back on the other boat, Dave and Anne Maria stood at the front of the boat with the latter carrying the harpoon gun and the former with a pile of dynamite next to him.

"Well, the shark is coming towards us. Here goes nothing." Dave remarked.

Dave picked up a match and a stick of dynamite.

"So should I just light this?" Dave asked.

"Yes, now hurry before we're shark chow." Anne Maria told him.

Dave lit the match and set the fuse off before tossing it at the shark. However, he overshot it and the stick exploded midair before landing.

"Whoops…" Dave trailed off.

"Jeez, that's pretty bad." Anne Maria remarked.

"Look, I don't blow things up that often, okay." Dave told her.

The scene changed to over on the front of the Editors' boat with Beth holding a harpoon and Sky and Jo standing near a stack of dynamite.

"So should I fire?" Beth asked.

"Yeah, it's distracted by the other boat." Jo said. "Now's a good chance."

Beth nodded in response and fired the harpoon gun. The harpoon missed and hit the water near the shark.

"Quick! Pull it back in and try again." Sky told her.

Beth began to pull the harpoon on the rope back in however as she did this, the shark near the Writers' boat started to move towards them.

"Uh oh…" Beth trailed off in realization. "Looks like I got their attention."

"Damn it, quick Sky, give me some dynamite." Jo said.

"Right." Sky replied as she handed Jo a stick of dynamite.

Jo lit the match before setting the fuse on the fire.

"Hey shark! Catch!" Jo exclaimed as she tossed the dynamite stick.

The shark jumped up from the water and swallowed the explosive.

"Ha! Yes!" Jo cheered. "Have fun blowing up from the inside, you stupid fish."

Just then, the shark spit the still lit stick of dynamite back up causing it to land on the Editors' boat.

"What?! Oh come on!" Jo exclaimed. "That's ridiculous."

"Well, this is a virtual world." Sky pointed out.

"Uh, guys, shouldn't we take care of the bomb on the boat!" Beth frantically pointed out.

Before anyone could react, the stick of dynamite went off, blowing a large hole in the center of the boat.

"Well… That can't be good." Sky nervously said.

"Quick! Go and check what the damage is!" Jo ordered.

"Which of us were you talking to?" Beth asked.

"Either one!" Jo shouted. "Just take care of it!"

Sky ran over to where the explosion went off and saw that the boat was slowly filling with water.

"Oh… That's not good." Sky remarked.

"Can we fix it or should we abandon ship?" Jo asked.

"The latter." Sky replied.

"Already ahead of you." Beth said. "I think I can make the jump to the other boat."

"Wait, shouldn't we tell Shawn and Lightning about our ship sinking?" Sky asked.

At that moment, Shawn and Lightning ran out on to the deck.

"Oh, great timing." Sky remarked.

"What was with that exploding sound, man?" Lightning asked.

"We're having a _bit_ of a problem." Jo replied. "Namely our boat filling with water."

Just then, the contestants felt the shark ramming into their boat and heard the sound of wood and metal breaking.

"And now there are more holes…" Jo nervously said. "We're going to the other boat."

"Will they let us on?" Shawn asked.

"It's worth a shot." Beth replied.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Shawn)**

"If someone created a zombie shark that'd be my worst night." Shawn told the audience. "Think about it: A zombie that can swim."

Shawn shuddered.

* * *

Meanwhile, inside the captaining area of the Writers' boat, Harold was attempting to get closer to the shark.

"Man, the other team doesn't look like they're doing so hot." Leshawna noted as she looked out the window towards the sinking boat of the Editors.

"Well, let's hope that doesn't happen to us." Harold said. "We need to get closer in order to kill the shark."

"Ugh! Seriously!" Scott shouted. "Are you insane? I can see the other team freaking out from here!"

"I'm the captain here, I know what I'm doing." Harold told him.

The scene shifted to Dave and Anne Maria out on the front of the boat.

"That other team isn't doing so hot." Anne Maria noticed, looking over at the gradually sinking boat near them.

The shark attacking the Editors rammed into the side of their boat, creating another hole.

"Hey! Can we get a little help!" Beth called out to the two Writers.

"I dunno, if you all sunk our team would win the challenge." Anne Maria pointed out.

"Hate to say it, but she's got a point." Dave agreed.

"Seriously!" Sky shouted. "Do you realize how messed up letting us die is?"

"All right… You've also got a point." Dave admitted before looking over at Anne Maria. "I think we should let them on."

"All right, you all can come on." Anne Maria told the Editors. "Just hope you can make the jump."

"I'll go first. I'm the leader here." Jo said.

Jo began to back up before running at the edge of her boat. She leaped forward and landed on the other teams' boat.

"Ha! Made it!" Jo cheered.

"Lightning'll go next." Lightning stated. "Oh, first Lightning needs to grab his shark bait."

"Seriously?" Shawn asked. "This is a life or death situation."

"Fine, you go first." Lightning replied as he grabbed the bucket of fish.

Shawn ran at the edge of the boat and jumped to the other side.

"Sweet non-sinking floor!" Shawn cheered once he made it.

"All right, now Lightning can go." Lightning stated as he began to back up. "Sha-go!"

Lightning began running forward before leaping ahead to the other side. In the process he dropped several of the dead fish in the water.

"Woo! Lighting's safe!" Lightning cheered.

The shark swam between the two boats and ate the fish Lightning had dropped.

"Ha! Lightning knew the shark would like those." Lightning said.

"S-so, you wanna go next?" Beth nervously asked Sky.

"Don't mind if I do." Sky replied as she began backing up. "I think I can make it."

Sky ran towards the other boat and leaped into the air. She landed smoothly.

"Ah, those acrobatics classes I took really paid for themselves." Sky rmarked.

"All right… Now it's just me… I can do this…" Beth told herself. "It's just a jump… Over water containing a shark that can swallow me whole…"

"Just close your eyes while jumping!" Dave called to her from his boat. "I haven't tried it but I heard it helps!"

"Thanks, I think!" Beth shouted back as she backed up a bit. "All right, here I go!"

Beth sprinted at the edge of the boat and took a jump.

"I'm doing it!" Beth cheered as she went across the gap.

Before Beth was able to make it all the way across, the shark jumped up from the water and bit her around the legs.

"Oh come on!" Beth screamed. "I don't wanna die like this!"

The shark dragged Beth under the water.

"So… Is she dead?" Lightning asked.

"Looks like it." Jo replied. "But we can't dwell on it. We need to kill that shark."

"Oh no ya don't." Anne Maria told her. "This is our boat so we make the rules. And rule number one is y'all don't get to shark hunt."

"Too bad, we're ignoring your rules." Jo said.

"Uh, Jo, we kinda left all our weapons back on our boat." Shawn pointed out. "AKA, the one on its way to the bottom of the sea."

"Don't worry, Lightning brought fish!" Lightning cheered.

"Hooray. That should help." Jo sarcastically replied.

"Sha-yeah, that's why Lightning brought them aboard." Lightning obliviously stated.

Just then, the contestants felt the shark ramming into their boat.

"Oh no! Now it's coming after us too!" Dave exclaimed.

"You know, we could help you here." Jo said.

"Nice try, we ain't lettin' you win." Anne Maria replied.

"Team, kill that shark!" Jo ordered her teammates.

"What she said." Anne Maria told Dave.

"You don't have to tell me." Dave replied.

All the contestants out on the deck rushed to the pile of explosives and grabbed several dynamite sticks. Sky was the first to grab the only matchbox and light a match. She quickly lit the fuse and threw the explosive at the shark.

"So long!" Sky shouted over to the shark.

The stick missed the shark and the fuse went out.

"Oh… Dang it." Sky said as she realized the mistake.

"Give me that." Jo told Sky as she took the matchbox from her.

Jo let the match followed by lighting her fuse. She chucked the dynamite at the shark only for it to explode before hitting the water.

"Never mind…" Jo trailed off.

"All right, I wanna have a crack at this." Anne Maria stated as she took the matches from Jo. "Hang on, I'm gettin' an idea…"

Anne Maria grabbed a fish out of the bucket Lightning brought aboard.

"Yo! Those are Lightning's!" Lightning exclaimed.

"Yeah, well, now you're sharin' them." Anne Maria told him.

"Uh, what are you doing Anne?" Dave asked.

"I ain't got a clue." Anne Maria admitted.

Anne Maria lit the fuse to her dynamite and stuck the other end in the mouth of the fish. She proceeded to toss the fish at the shark attacking the boat. The shark jumped up from the water and swallowed the fish and dynamite.

"Ha! Wow, that actually worked." Anne Maria remarked in disbelief.

"Not so fast, the shark still looks pretty alive to me." Shawn pointed out.

The dynamite went off from inside the shark causing it to explode and splatter blood all over the side of the boat.

"Well… I wasn't planning on eating dinner tonight anyway…" Dave trailed off, sounding disgusted.

"So does this mean the challenge is over?" Lightning asked. "Who won, man?"

The contestants began glowing light blue before the light engulfed them causing them to disappear.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Scott)**

"I didn't know _how_ we won exactly, but I was just glad it was over." Scott told the audience.

* * *

The teams woke up back in the real world.

"And welcome back!" Chris announced. "Editors, looks like your winning streak is over."

"Dang it Lightning, this is thanks to you and your stupid fish…" Jo grumbled.

"Man, if you used the fish before they did we woulda won." Lightning stated.

"I'm just glad to be on nice solid land right now." Shawn remarked.

"So, our team won?" Leshawna asked.

"Indeed you did." Chris stated. "And as an added bonus, the winning team gets to enjoy a delicious shark fin soup."

"Ew…" Dave trailed off.

"I'm pretty sure that's illegal." Harold pointed out.

"Don't worry, I'm just kidding." Chris told the team. "The guy who usually supplies Chef's meat was recently arrested anyway."

"Is that a joke too?" Sky asked.

"Uh… Yes." Chris replied, sounding suspicious. "Anyway, please enjoy the actual meal Chef has prepared. It's hot and ready… Well, it's at least ready."

The scene changed to both teams eating a lunch of what appeared to be oatmeal in the cafeteria. The camera focused on the Editors at their table.

"I can't believe we lost. We were doing so well." Beth remarked.

"And Lightning can't believe Jo tried to blame him." Lightning said.

"I'm just saying if it wasn't for your shark bait, the other team wouldn't have won." Jo pointed out.

"You're just jealous 'cause Lightning's plan actually worked." Lightning replied.

"Yeah, but it worked out for the _other team_." Sky pointed out.

"Still worked though." Lightning argued. "Shawn can back me up."

"I'm staying out of this." Shawn told him.

"Fair enough." Lightning remarked. "But Lightning's just sayin' if anyone should be eliminated it should be Beth.

"Hey!" Beth exclaimed. "I'm right here y'know."

"Oh, sorry girl." Lightning told Beth. "But Lightning's just sayin', it ain't his fault."

"Yeah, no it's definitely your fault." Jo remarked.

"Fine, be that way." Lightning replied. "Lightning's goin' to his trailer.

Lightning stood up and left the area.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Lightning)**

"Lightning don't get why his team blamed him." Lightning remarked. "Beth's the one who got eaten by the shark. Lightning's surrounded by fools."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jo)**

"I _might_ have been a bit hard on Lightning." Jo admitted. "He did actually have a point. Beth is the least useful person on the team right now. Plus, another reason to keep Lightning around is that he's too stupid to do any real damage to my alliance. Beth on the other hand… I've got a feeling she's smarter than she looks."

* * *

The camera focused on the Writers at their table.

"I'm sure glad that we won." Anne Maria remarked. "No thanks to you, Scott."

"That's fair." Scott admitted. "I didn't really help that much."

"At least you're honest." Leshawna commented.

"Thank you." Scott replied.

"I don't think she meant that as a compliment." Dave pointed out.

"Whatever." Scott said. "At least none of us are on the chopping block."

"Well, not for long." Harold remarked.

"What's that mean?" Anne Maria asked.

"Well, after tonight there will only be nine of us left." Harold pointed out. "And that's usually the time the merge happens."

"Hmm, that is true." Leshawna remarked.

"Well, if it's the merge then I wish all of you the best of luck." Scott told his team.

"Huh, that's nice of you to say." Anne Maria commented.

"'Cause you'll need luck if you wanna beat me." Scott continued.

"And there it is…" Anne Maria said, sounding unimpressed.

"Just saying, I've done pretty well both times I was here." Scott bragged.

"So did Zoey, and you just got her axed." Anne Maria pointed out.

"Gosh, maybe we should lighten up." Harold suggested. "After all, we just won."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Dave)**

"If Harold is right about the merge being soon, that means I'll have to interact with Sky pretty soon." Dave said. "I kinda hope she's eliminated tonight. It'd be _pretty awkward_ to talk to her again. We still aren't exactly on good terms."

* * *

The scene changed to later with the Editors in front of the stage at the elimination ceremony. Chris and Chef walked up to the stage.

"So, how are you all feeling?" Chris casually asked.

"Why do you keep asking that?" Jo wondered.

"Yeah, you know what the answer's gonna be." Sky pointed out.

"You guys take the fun out of my job sometimes, you know that." Chris remarked. "Anyway, just get to the voting."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Beth)**

Beth held up a crossed out picture of Lightning.

"For once, Jo had a point. Lightning's bait did make us lose." Beth remarked.

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Shawn)**

"On one hand, Lightning's the only person in my alliance, on the other hand, he messed up pretty badly." Shawn remarked. "Maybe I should give him another chance… I'll have to think about this one."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Sky)**

Sky showed a photo of Beth with an X over it to the camera.

"Jo convinced me to vote for Beth instead of Lightning." Sky told the audience. "To be honest, I'm a little iffy on this… But my alliance with Jo is the best chance I've got at winning. Plus me and Beth weren't really that close anyway."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Lightning)**

Lightning held a crossed out photograph of himself to the camera.

"Fine, if this team don't want Lightning, he can take a hint. You'll all be sorry." Lightning told the camera before pausing and thinking for a second. "Crap! Is it too late for Lightning to change his vote?"

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Jo)**

Jo drew an X over a picture of Beth and showed it to the camera.

"I don't know how you made it to the finals the last time you were here, but I'm gonna make sure you don't do it again." Jo stated.

* * *

The scene faded ahead to later with the Editors in the bleachers and the two hosts on the stage.

"All right, I've gone through the votes." Chris informed the team. "Jo, Sky, Shawn. You're all safe."

Chef tossed three Gilded Chris Awards to the mentioned contestants.

"Beth, Lightning, I only have one marshmallow left." Chris informed them. "Guess which of you gets it? That's right, it goes to…"

…

…

…

…

…

…

"… Lightning."

Chef threw the last award to Lightning.

"Sha-boom!" Lightning cheered. "Looks like Lightning didn't screw himself over after all."

"Beth, please make your way to the Lame-O-Sine." Chris instructed her.

"All right, but I just have one last thing to say." Beth said as she stood up. "I know I may not be the smartest, or the strongest, or even the prettiest. But I'm glad that I stuck to my morals the whole time."

"That's nice, but you still lost." Chris told her.

"I know." Beth replied. "But I still feel good about it."

Beth got down from the bleachers and walked down the red carpet towards the limo. She entered the limo and looked at the driver.

"Hey, are there any drive-ins nearby?" Beth asked.

"I think there's a place playing Deep Blue Sea about an hour away." The driver replied.

"Nothing with sharks!" Beth quickly told him.

"I'll see what I can do." The driver responded.

The camera switched to the outside of the limousine as it drove away. Once it was gone Chris walked up to the end of the red carpet and looked in to the camera.

"Well, looks like Beth won't be making the finals this time." Chris remarked. "But who will? With the merge on the horizon things are getting interesting around here. So stick around for more excitement on, Total. Drama. Winners!"

* * *

 **Votes:**

Beth - Lightning

Jo - Beth

Lightning - Lightning

Shawn - Beth

Sky - Beth

 **Results:**

Beth - 3 Votes

Lightning - 2 Votes

 **Eliminated:**

Mike, the Nice Guy (18th Place)

Max, the Super Villain (17th Place)

Lindsay, the Dumb Princess (16th Place)

Geoff, the Funnest Guy Around (15th Place)

Sugar, the Pageant Queen (14th Place)

Jasmine, the Outback Survivalist (13th Place)

Owen, the Party Animal (12th Place)

Zoey, the Indie Chick (11th Place)

Beth, the Wannabe (10th Place)

* * *

 **I've only seen Jaws once, but I remember liking it. I haven't seen Deep Blue Sea, but it was easier to make a pun for that movie than it was for Jaws. So sorry if that title was confusing. Anyway, this was a fun chapter to write. I especially liked playing up Scott's shark fear in this chapter. Also, the next chapter will be the second Aftermath so be ready for that. And of course after that is the merge. If you're wondering why I chose to eliminate Beth, it's the usual reason of me having plans for the other characters. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thanks for reading.**


	12. Aftermath II

**Before we start, here's a random thing I found out recently: My fanfic Total Drama Losers apparently has a page on TVTropes. Granted, it's not that big a page, but to whoever thought my story was notable enough to be on there, thank you. I'm very flattered. Anyway, enough shameless ego boosting, it's time to read the story.**

* * *

The Total Drama Aftermath logo appeared against a blue background.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it's time for another installment of… Total Drama Aftermath!" A narrator announced.

The scene shifted to the inside of the Aftermath studio with Sierra, Topher, and Blaineley on the couch in the middle and Max, Lindsay, Geoff, and Mike sitting in the peanut gallery to the side.

"Hello, Total Drama fans! Welcome to another Aftermath!" Sierra greeted the audience.

"Tonight, we'll be having interviews with Sugar, Jasmine, Owen, Zoey, and Beth." Topher continued.

"So stay tuned for the televised equivalent of throwing a party for someone having a bad time." Blaineley said.

"Hey, that's not what the script said." Topher pointed out.

"Heh, let's move forward, shall we?" Sierra suggested.

"That's probably a good idea." Blianeley admitted. "The faster this goes, the better it is for me."

"You need help." Topher told her.

"Guys, what part of 'Let's move forward' didn't you get?" Sierra whispered to the other two.

"Right, sorry." Topher apologized. "Uh, who's first on the interviewing agenda?"

"Glad you asked." Blaineley replied. "This pageant queen made it to the Pahkitew Island final three, somehow, but this time couldn't quite hold out for as long. It's Sugar!"

With that cue, Sugar walked out on stage, waving at the audience.

"Thank you! Thank you!" Sugar cheered, still waving. "It's great to see y'all!"

Sugar sat down at the couch with the trio of hosts.

"So Sugar, how's elimination treating you?" Sierra asked.

"Well, I'd rather still be in the game. But 'least I ain't bein' chased by ninja robots or anything like that." Sugar replied. "So it's a mixed bag of seed. Some of 'em are pumpkin seeds and some of them are full of poison."

"Well, that's the weirdest analogy I've heard all day." Blaineley commented.

"Why thank you." Sugar replied.

"Anyone, let's move on to the next question." Sierra went on. "Sugar, who do you think has got the best shot at winning the million."

"Do they still have to be playin'?" Sugar asked.

"Yes. That seems obvious." Topher told her.

"Aw horse feathers. Guess that takes me outta the picture." Sugar remarked. "Well, guess I'd have to go for that Shawn feller. He looks kinda smart and he did better than me last time I was on this here show."

"Not what I would've expected you to choose." Blaineley remarked.

"What's that 'sposed to mean?" Sugar asked.

"I think she means she expected you to choose someone based on their looks." Sierra explained.

"Well, I was." Sugar replied. "But I couldn't choose myself so that kind narrowed it down to nobody else good lookin'."

"Fair enough." Topher remarked. "But, you'd have chosen _me_ if I was competing, right?"

"Eh…. Maybe." Sugar told him.

"Well… I'll take what I can get." Topher told her.

"Next question: Sugar, who do you hope gets eliminated next?" Sierra asked her.

"Well, I ain't got any enemies." Sugar replied. "'Cept for all my pageant rivals and that princess whats-her-face from last seasons."

"So you do have enemies." Blaineley told her.

"I do, but none of 'em are here right now." Sugar replied. "Now, lemme finish. If I gotta choose from who's left, I'm goin' for Dave. I ain't got a clue why he's still in the game. He's scrawnier than a badly fed goat."

"You know, I think you're right. He's definitely not the most skilled." Topher agreed.

"'Course I'm right. I always am." Sugar stated.

"Debatable…" Blaineley quietly murmured before raising her voice again. "So Sugar, if you did anything differently while you were on the show, what would it be?"

"Maybe I'd be on the other team." Sugar replied. "I mean, they'd probably understand me better."

"Doubtful…" Blaineley whispered to herself.

"Y'know Blaineley, you might wanna cut back on the quiet sarcastic quips." Sierra told her.

"Heh, what are you talking about?" Blaineley denied, sounding uncomfortable. "You must be hearing things. Hey, is it getting hot in here or is it just me?"

"Uh huh…. Anyway, let's move on." Topher suggested. "Do we have any more questions for Sugar?"

"Nope, that's it." Sierra replied.

"Ah man, I wanted more screen time." Sugar complained. "Can'cha just make up a question?"

"No, that's too hard." Blaineley told her. "Now please proceed to the peanut gallery."

"Ah, shoot. I'll get that screen time I'll deserve one of these days." Sugar said.

Sugar stood up and walked up to the peanut gallery and sat down.

"Hey there." Mike greeted her.

"Howdy." Sugar replied.

"Oh, your name's Honey, right?" Lindsay asked. "No, wait… Cookie."

"Eh, close enough." Sugar told her.

"Yay! I got close!" Lindsay cheered.

"Ahem, can you keep the chitchat to a zero?" Blaineley asked. "We're still recording."

"Hey man, can't we talk over here?" Geoff asked.

"Agreed, we should be allowed to scheme." Max added.

"Scheme?" Mike asked. "Who here's scheming?"

"I am." Max stated.

"Well nobody else is." Blaineley told him. "So shut it while the adults, and two teenagers, do their jobs."

"Okay." Lindsay replied.

"Thank you." Blaineley said before turning to her co-hosts. "Please remind me who we're bringing in next."

"Well, glad you asked." Topher replied. "She's ridiculously tall and comes from a land where everything wants to kill you: It's Jasmine!"

Jasmine walked into view of the camera.

"'Ello everybody!" Jasmine greeted the studio audience.

"Please, take a seat." Sierra instructed her.

"Don't mind if I do." Jasmine replied as she walked up to the hosts' couch and sat down. "So what's the first question you've got lined up for me?"

"Well, we'll go with the usual: How do you feel about being eliminated?" Sierra told her.

"On one 'and, I'd prefer to still be in the runnings." Jasmine admitted. "On the other 'and… It gives me a chance to kick off the old work boots and relax. Plus, with Shawn still in the game, I've still got a chance at getting some of the money."

"That is true." Topher replied. "I take it that means you're hoping Shawn wins the million dollars?"

"Oh, most definitely." Jasmine said. "Who else would I choose? Well, I guess maybe Sky."

"And if you had another chance at this season, what would it be that you do differently?" Blaineley asked.

"Hmm… That's a tough question." Jasmine replied. "I'd try to get rid of Jo 'arder, that's for sure. If it wasn't for 'er I'd still be playing."

"Who do you think is going to get eliminated next?" Topher asked.

" _Hope_ or _think_?" Jasmine asked. "Because those are two different things.

"Whichever one you feel like." Topher told her.

"Well, I sort of 'ope Jo's eliminated on account of 'er being the main reason I'm not on the show anymore." Jasmine replied. " _But_ if I'm going for who's most likely…. I'd 'ave to guess Anne Maria. From what I've seen, she doesn't really 'ave any real skills."

"As someone who's supposed to be unbiased, all I can say is that those are interesting choices." Blaineley replied. " _However_ , I don't really care about that. And you are _definitely_ right about Anne Maria."

"Oh, thank you?" Jasmine confusedly replied. "I'm not quite sure 'ow I feel about that."

"One last question before we go." Topher told her. "This isn't one of the questions on the list, but I have to ask: How tall are you exactly?"

"You know, I'm not exactly sure." Jasmine admitted.

"Oh, you're roughly seven feet tall." Sierra interjected in an attempt to be helpful.

"Um… Uh, 'ow exactly do you know that?" Jasmine asked, sounding rather concerned.

"Research." Sierra stated, still sounding cheery.

"What kind of research?" Jasmine continued to ask.

"Well, first I looked at recordings of you from the show for reference." Sierra explained. "Then I calculated your-"

"All right, I'm cutting you off before this gets creepier than it already is." Blaineley interrupted.

"Thank you." Jasmine said. "I really appreciate that."

"Yeah, that sounded like it was about to take a dive into creep-town." Topher agreed.

"If only Cody were here…" Sierra sighed. "He'd understand."

"No, no he wouldn't." Blaineley told her.

"Yes he would!" Sierra desperately insisted.

"So… Uh, do you still need me 'ere?" Jasmine asked. "Or can I leave now?"

"No, that's all we need from you." Topher replied. "Go hang out with the others."

"Arright then." Jasmine said as she stood up. "Ta-ta for now in that case."

Jasmine walked over to the peanut gallery and sat down.

"Oh, 'ello everyone." Jasmine greeted her fellow eliminated contestants. "What's it like 'ere in the peanut gallery?"

"Pretty boring, dude." Geoff replied.

"Yeah, every time we try to talk Beasley shuts us down." Lindsay said.

"Don't worry, I'm planning to take her down." Max whispered to Jasmine.

"Didn't need to know that." Jasmine told him.

"Hey! The important people are over here!" Blaineley shouted over to the peanut gallery.

"She like this all the time?" Sugar asked the other ex-contestants.

"Unfortunately, yes." Mike told her.

"You _don't_ get used to it, dude." Geoff added.

"Ugh! Just let me do my job!" Blaineley demanded before turning to her co-hosts and resuming her calm composure. "So, who's next."

"Glad you asked." Sierra replied. "He's the heaviest contestant in Total Drama history as well as one of the very first finalists: That's right, it's Owen!"

Owen walked on to the stage and waved at the audience.

"It's so great to be here right now!" Owen cheered. "Woohoo!"

Owen excitedly sat down with the trio of hosts.

"You sure seem happy for some who just lost out on a million dollars." Topher remarked.

"I don't really care about that." Owen admitted. "After making the merge three times in a row, this actually a really nice change of pace."

"So I guess your thoughts on being eliminated are mostly positive." Sierra said.

"Pretty much." Owen replied. "As much as I liked Chef's food, it's nice to have a little change. Plus, me and Noah have got this thing going on where we enter a bunch of other reality shows. So now that this show's over I can get back to that."

"You know, I actually admire your optimism." Topher remarked. "You remind me of Chris McLean in the movie Wyoming."

"Hey, I remember seeing that movie." Blaineley said. "Wasn't that thing just a cheap knock off of Oklahoma?"

"Shh! You don't understand genius." Topher told her.

"Guys, we're supposed to be interviewing Owen." Sierra reminded them. "Remember?"

"Right." Topher replied. "Let's get back to the main topic here."

"Of course." Blaineley said. "What's our next question?"

"Owen, who do you hope wins?" Sierra asked him.

"Ah gee, that's a tough one." Owen replied. "My best friends are Noah and Izzy. Oh, and I guess Noah's girlfriend and her sister. But none of them are here. Oh, wait, Harold and Leshawna are all right. Either of them I guess."

"Interesting choice." Blaineley said.

"What's the next question?" Owen asked. "Doing this is actually pretty fun."

"Glad you asked." Topher replied. "Who do you think is going to be eliminated next?"

"Hmm…. I don't really know." Owen admitted. "Heh, I'm not so good at predicting these things."

"You've gotta choose one of them." Blaineley told him. "The people at home have a right to know."

"Oh, all right." Owen said. "Hmm… Lemme think a bit more. I guess that Lightning guy. I didn't really talk to him but he seemed a little… Weird."

"I hear you." Topher replied. "As someone with extensive knowledge of this show, I can say that you're definitely right."

"Really?" Owen asked. "Oh, thanks I guess."

"All right, time for the last question." Blaineley told him. "Owen, if you could go back in time and do one thing different in how you played your game, what would it be?"

"I dunno, I thought I played a pretty good game." Owen replied. "Heh, I don't think I'd change anything."

"Aw, that sure is sweet." Sierra remarked.

"Sure is." Blaineley agreed. " _But_ , we need an actual answer."

"Oh, all right." Owen replied. "Jeez, this question part is hard. Uh… I guess I'd eat more of Chef's food. Heh, it really isn't that bad once you get used to it."

"I'll take your word for it." Topher said. "Personally, I was fine with the sponsored meals I got to eat."

"Aw, you're lucky." Sierra told him.

"So, um, was that everything?" Owen asked.

"Yep, pretty much." Blaineley replied. "Please take a seat with the others. And for the love of everything, please try to keep it down. You have no idea how hard it is for me to concentrate."

"Oh, all right." Owen said. "I'll try."

Owen got up from the couch and walked over to the peanut gallery where he sat down.

"Hey guys." Owen quietly tried to greet the other contestants. "How's it going?"

"Howdy!" Sugar enthusiastically greeted. "Good to see a familiar face. Wait, we were on the same team, right?"

"Shh! Sugar, don't you remember what Blaineley keeps saying?" Mike asked.

"Yeah, I don't wanna get yelled at again, bro." Geoff replied.

"Yeah, that's why I'm whispering." Owen added, still quiet.

"Ah, she ain't that intimidating." Sugar brushed them off, still keeping her voice at normal volume.

"Yes I am!" Blaineley shouted from out of view. "I am the most powerful person In this room."

"Ahem, I believe you're forgetting about me." Max interjected.

"No, trust me, I wasn't." Blaineley told him. "I _definitely_ remembered you."

"Well, it sure is good of you to- Hey!" Max realized what was being said about him. "How dare you! You shall pay for your insolence!"

"Wow, you really need to chill out, Marv." Lindsay told Max.

"Silence, worm." Max replied. "You shall be among the first to fall."

The camera focused back on the trio of hosts.

"Well, that sure was weird." Topher remarked. "Who's next on the list."

"Great question." Sierra said. "This redhead has made it far twice but wasn't able to make the cut this time around: It's Zoey!"

Zoey walked into view of the studio's cameras.

"Uh, hi everyone." Zoey greeted the audience.

"Hey Zoey!" Mike called to her from the peanut gallery. "I'm over here!"

"Hi Mike!" Zoey waved back.

"Excuse me, I'm doing an interview here." Blaineley told them. "Talk about your stomach ache inducing-ly sweet relationship later.

"All right, wow. That was harsh." Mike remarked as he sunk down into his chair.

"Uh… Let's move on." Topher said. "Zoey, please sit down with us."

"If you say so." Zoey replied as she walked up to the three hosts and sat down. "What kind of questions do you have lined up?"

"Well, let's start with the obvious: How do you feel about your time on the show being cut short?" Sierra asked.

"Not very good." Zoey admitted. "I really thought I had another shot at the million. Look at how well I did last time I was here."

"Hmmph, over confident much?" Blaineley remarked.

"Actually, if my Total Drama statistics are anything to go by, she had a pretty good chance at it." Sierra stated.

"Weirdo…" Blaineley muttered.

"Uh, anyway, yeah, overall, I would've preferred to stay in the game." Zoey said. "But at least I get to hang out with Mike now. So, you know, silver lining and all that."

"Good on you for staying optimistic." Sierra told her.

"But, you're still here, so there's that." Topher pointed out.

"I know that. It just feels better to look on the bright side." Zoey replied. "Even if it doesn't always help…"

"Moving on, let's go to our next question." Sierra said. "Zoey, who do you want to win the million dollars?"

"Well, I'm going to have to go with Harold." Zoey replied. "He seemed like a nice guy. Leshawna too, I wouldn't mind her winning either."

"You know, you're not the first person to have said that." Blaineley remarked.

"What does that mean?" Zoey asked. "Are you trying to call me unoriginal?"

"Just making an observation." Blaineley denied. "Well… Maybe I was a little."

"Um, let's move on before Blaineley says something we'll all regret." Topher told the audience.

"Hey!" Blaineley exclaimed. "I don't have to take that you know. I just got a call yesterday about a new TV show that needed a quirky in-law character. My career can only go uphill from there."

"Uh, next question." Topher said. "Zoey: Who do you think will get eliminated next?"

"Probably Anne Maria." Zoey replied. "I know we kinda became friends, but… She's a little aggressive which probably won't make people like her that much. Just saying."

"You're not the first person to guess Anne Maria either." Blaineley observed. "Just saying."

"What? There's a good chance of it happening." Zoey said. "It's not like I _want_ her to lose. If I had my pick I'd want someone like Scott to be eliminated instead."

"Don't we all." Topher jokingly remarked.

"All right, now for the last question." Sierra told Zoey. "If you could go back, what would you do differently with your time on the show."

"I'd probably put myself on Mike's team." Zoey answered. "Or, better yet, put him on my team. That way we could spend some time together, and he might not be the first eliminated."

"You're not the first person to say that they'd like to be on the other team either." Blaineley remarked.

"That was me!" Sugar cheered from the peanut gallery.

"Yes Sugar, we know." Blaineley replied, sounding irritated.

"All right Zoey, that's all the time we have for your interview." Topher informed her. "Please join your boyfriend and the other eliminated contestants."

"Okay. It sure was nice being here." Zoey said.

Zoey stood up and walked over to the peanut gallery and sat down next to Mike.

"Heh, hey there." Mike quietly greeted his girlfriend.

"Hi." Zoey shyly whispered back. "Great to see you again."

Zoey leaned over and gave Mike a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Hmph, save it for after the show, lovebirds." Max told them.

"Aw, I think Zelda and Moe are cute together." Lindsay remarked.

"Wait a minute dudes, we need to stop before Blaine yells at us for talking." Geoff pointed out.

"Eh, I've decided to give up." Blaineley told the members of the peanut gallery.

"Why's that?" Owen asked.

"You people just won't take a hint no matter how much I _desperately, desperately_ try." Blaineley stated.

"Ah jeez, I was hoping you'd say something more uplifting." Owen replied.

"Like what?" Blaineley asked.

"Oh, 'ow about something along the lines of 'I learned the value of tolerance and such'." Jasmine suggested. "Just a thought."

"Why not." Blaineley said. "You all pretend I said that without the silly accent."

"Silly?" Jasmine asked.

"Moving back to the main event, we have one last contestant to introduce." Sierra told the audience. "Former TDA finalist and current bestie of Lindsay: It's Beth!"

Beth walked into view of the camera.

"Uh…. Hi." Beth shyly waved at the cameras.

"Hey Beth!" Lindsay called out to her friend. "Over here!"

"Oh, hey Lindsay!" Beth called back. "I'll talk to you when I'm done!"

"Ahem, please sit down with _us_." Blaineley reminded her.

"Right, right. Sorry." Beth replied as she went over to the three hosts and sat down. "So, uh, what kind of questions have you got?"

"Same as all the rest." Topher told Beth. "First off, how do you feel about being eliminated?"

"Not very good." Beth said. "I guess I sorta should've seen it coming since I wasn't even in any alliances. But I dunno, I thought I had a really good chance back there."

"Well, you probably shouldn't look at the past." Sierra told her. "The future's where it's at. It's full of hoverboards, robots, and me and Cody finally getting married."

"What was that last one?" Topher asked.

"Nothing!" Sierra quickly replied, sounding nervous. "You must have hearing problems 'cause everything I said was normal."

"Let's pretend this never happened and move on to the next question." Blaineley decided.

"Good idea." Sierra agreed.

"What's the next question anyway?" Beth asked.

"Glad you asked." Topher replied. "Beth, who do you want to win the million dollar prize?"

"Hard to say." Beth admitted. "I don't really like any of the people on my team. Jo and Lightning are full of themselves, and I didn't really get to know Sky or Shawn that well. I guess I'd like to see Leshawna win. I kinda like her."

"And now for a question on the opposite end of the spectrum." Topher told her. "Who do you hope is eliminated next?"

"Well, I just said I didn't like Jo or Lightning." Beth pointed out. "So either of them."

"You have good judgment." Blaineley remarked.

"Is that supposed to be sarcasm?" Beth asked.

"No, for once I actually mean what I said." Blaineley stated. "I know, weird, right?"

"Okay, I know that last part was sarcastic." Beth said.

"Only mildly." Blaineley replied.

"But anyway, I don't think either of them will _actually_ be eliminated." Beth got back on topic. "I mean, _maybe_ Lightning but it's not that likely. It'll probably be someone like Dave or Anne Maria."

"You know, I'm starting to see some patterns with the answers we're getting." Topher realized.

"In a good kind of way or a bad kind?" Beth asked.

"I don't really know." Topher admitted.

"Let's move forward to our last question." Sierra told the others before looking over at Beth. "So Beth, if you could go back to the start, what would you do differently?"

"Huh, that's a good question." Beth replied. "I never really thought about that. Actually, now that I think about it, there's one specific thing I'd do differently."

"Really? What is it?" Topher asked.

"Lightning offered me the chance at an alliance at one point. If I had to do it over again, I'd accept it." Beth explained. "I don't really like him in _any way_. But I'd probably still be on the show if I did that."

"Gotta agree with you there." Blaineley said. "But the question is: Would it be worth putting up with Lightning?"

"Good point." Beth admitted.

"Well Beth, that's all the questions we've got for you." Topher told her. "You go over to the peanut gallery while we wrap things up."

"Oh, all right." Beth said as she stood up. "Goodbye."

Beth walked over to the peanut gallery and sat down next to Lindsay.

"Eee! It's so good to see you again!" Lindsay cheered as she pulled Beth into a hug.

"I know!" Beth excitedly replied. "We've got so much to catch up on."

"Hmmph, and I thought the couple was bad." Max remarked.

"You'd better not be talking about me and Mike." Zoey told him.

"Pretty sure he is, dude." Geoff said.

The camera moved back over to the three hosts.

"Is that it? It's over now?" Topher asked. "I wanted more."

"Too bad, let's get out of here and not talk until the next Aftermath." Blaineley declared as she stood up. "I am out of this place."

Blaineley walked off the set.

"Ah, not again." Sierra remarked. "Blaineley, come back! You're supposed to do the outro!"

Sierra stood up and followed Blaineley off the set.

"H-hey, you can't leave me here!" Topher called out to the both of them. "I don't know the lines for the ending bit!"

Topher looked directly into the camera.

"Uh, I… Uh…" Topher trailed off, looking like a deer in headlights. "Um, you may be caught up with the eliminated contestants, but you've still got a bunch more competitors to watch. So, um, be sure to watch, Total. Drama. Winners!"

There was a long awkward pause once Topher finished.

"How was I?" Topher asked, turning to the peanut gallery. "Be honest."

"Well, I've seen a whole lot worse." Sugar replied.

"I'll take it." Topher remarked.

* * *

 **And that was the Aftermath. Like the last one, it was a lot shorter than the main chapters. But on the bright side, that means it gets to be out earlier than the main chapters too. Next time in the main story it's going to be the merge. So keep a lookout for that. Anyway, let me know what you thought of this chapter. Thanks for reading.**


	13. Fairy Fail

**And here is my latest chapter. It's longer than I would've liked it to be, but I can't really find any scenes to cut out. Hopefully, you all don't mind it. Anyway, I also have something new I'm going to try. At the suggestion of one of my readers, I will now be responding to reviews within my stories like several other writers on this site do. So here are my first responses:**

 **JOHNHAMMOND1993 (Guest): Thank you for all the suggestions, I may use one. But I only have a limited amount of chapters left so if not, that's why.**

 **Nicky Haugh: Thank you. I know that's your response to most of my chapters, but thanks anyway.**

 **SideshowJazz1: I know I already said this in a PM to you, but thank you again for making a TVTropes page for my story. Also yes, I wouldn't mind there being a page for this story too once it's finished.**

 **Acosta Perez Jose Ramiro: I honestly didn't mean for that to happen, but it is in character for Blaineley so I guess that works out. Also thanks.**

 **SilentSinger948: Thank you. I don't have much else to say but thanks all the same.**

 **Guest: It's funny that you should mention a Dungeons and Dragons themed challenge. Because this one has a lot of fantasy elements in it.**

 **Anyway, that's all I have to say in response to your reviews. Enjoy the rest of your chapter now.**

* * *

"Last time, on Total Drama Winners. Our contestants went out on the open water. Of course, said water was inhabited by a killer shark." A clip of the shark from the previous challenge attacking the Editors' boat played. "Scott was less than pleased with this news to say the very least." The footage changed to that of Scott cowering in fear on the lower deck of his boat. "Anyway, hilarity aside, the Raving Writers ended up blowing up the shark like it was a Looney Tunes cartoon." A clip of the antagonizing shark exploding was seen next. "And despite Lightning going a bit nutty after accidentally causing his team to lose and even voting for himself, it was Beth who said goodbye to her team." Beth entering the limousine was seen next.

The footage then changed to Chris walking through one of the abandoned studios.

"The merge has finally rolled around." Chris informed the audience. "What new challenges will arise? Well, you can't find out unless you watch some more, Total. Drama. Winners!"

* * *

 **(Theme Song)**

* * *

The scene faded in on the contestants eating breakfast in the mess hall. The camera focused on the Editors table with Lightning being oddly absent.

"So… How's your morning?" Shawn asked the other two members of his team.

"Average." Jo bluntly replied. "Let's leave it there."

"Heh, you don't seem in a good mood." Shawn remarked.

"Yeah, that's pretty obvious." Jo pointed out.

"Hey, I just noticed something." Sky realized. "Where's Lightning?"

"You know, I'm not sure." Shawn realized. "On account of me sleeping in… An undisclosed location, I didn't see him when I woke up."

Just then, Lightning walked on to the scene and took a seat at the table.

"Yo! What's up everyone." Lightning greeted his team.

Nobody responded to Lightning.

"What's the matter? Someone die while Lighting was gone?" Lightning confusedly asked.

"Why are you so cheery?" Jo asked.

"Yeah, last night you were all upset about being blamed for us losing." Sky added.

"Ah, Lightning over that." Lightning told his team. "He's a lean, mean, fightin' machine! What'd Chef make for breakfast this time?"

"I don't even ask him what it is anymore." Shawn replied.

"Sha-Cool." Lightning replied. "Anyone want me to grab seconds."

"You serious?" Jo asked. "This stuff tastes awful."

"Just checking, bro." Lightning told her. "All right, Lightning's gonna get breakfast now. Peace."

Lightning stood up and walked towards the counter Chef was serving breakfast at.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Lightning)**

"Lightning knows he looked like a bit of an idiot after the last challenge." Lightning told the audience. "So, he needed to be nice to his team. Luckily, Lightning also knew that Shawn had this back."

* * *

The scene focused over on the Writers at their table.

"So, do ya really think this is the merge, Harold?" Anne Maria asked.

"It has to be." Harold replied. "It makes the most sense, logically speaking."

"Yeah, but Chris doesn't like to follow any logic." Scott pointed out. "Have you seen the stuff he's pulled?"

"That is true. He eliminated Duncan for not singing in season three." Leshawna recalled.

"But there are only nine of us." Harold pointed out. "It's gotta be happening sometime soon."

"Y'know, I wouldn't really mind that happenin'." Anne Maria admitted. "It'd be a nice change of pace in my book."

"Yeah, I kinda agree with you." Scott remarked.

"Hey Dave, why're you so quiet?" Leshawna asked, looking over at Dave.

Dave looked up from his plate and over at Leshawna.

"Hmm? Oh, I was just trying to figure out what Chef's making us eat." Dave explained as he gestured at the mass of greenish slop on his plate. "This doesn't even seem breakfast-y. It seems like something he'd feed us for lunch."

"Just don't question things, and eat it." Scott told him. "It may taste bad, but it's your only source of energy."

"Well, when you put it like that, it doesn't sound half bad." Dave replied.

Dave stuck his fork into the green mush and took a bite of it.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Dave)**

" _That_ was a mistake for sure." Dave commented. "I don't want to go into _any_ details about how bad that thing tasted. I wonder if this dressing room has any mouthwash."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Anne Maria)**

"Personally, I think the idea of the merge comin' around is a good thing for me." Anne Maria told the audience. "I mean, I'm outnumbered four to one if we're talkin' about other people on my team. Gettin' to know the other team might help me, you know, not lose."

* * *

The camera switched back over to the Editors' table.

"Man, this stuff ain't good." Lightning remarked as he chewed on the same green stuff the other team ate. "Hope it's at least high in protein."

"Well, you enjoy your meal. If you can call it that." Jo told Lightning. "As for me, I think I'm going to go for a jog."

Jo glanced over at Sky.

"You wanna come with?" Jo asked.

"You know I do." Sky replied.

Both Sky and Jo stood up and left the mess hall.

"Man, we gotta do something 'bout those two." Lightning remarked. "They're gonna take us all down if we ain't careful."

"I know that. But there's nobody more careful than me." Shawn told him. "I am prepared for any possible situation. I made it to the finals my first time around."

"Yeah, so did I." Lightning replied. "That makes us extra unstoppable."

"Wait, you were a finalist?" Shawn asked.

"Sha-yeah." Lightning told him. "Why do you sound so surprised? This ain't the first time Lightning's brought this up either."

"Huh, I guess I forgot." Shawn remarked.

"Don't know how you'd do that." Lightning said. "Lightning unforgettable in every meaning of the word."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Shawn)**

"I still think this accidental alliance with Lightning is… Less than ideal." Shawn told the audience. "But I'm really trying to make it work out. I'm not sure if I'm too good at that though."

* * *

The camera cut to a close-up shot of the film lot's loudspeaker system.

"Good morning everyone! It's that time again!" Chris announced through the speakers. "Prepare to be _enchanted_ by our latest challenge. Don't worry, that last bit will make sense once you get here."

The scene then changed to the teams arriving at the studio full of virtual reality equipment Chris was waiting for them in.

"Hey, where's Chef. Ain't he always here?" Leshawna noticed as she entered the room.

"Chef's getting changed." Chris explained. "Don't worry, you'll see in to what in a second."

"So what exactly is the challenge this time?" Sky asked.

"Patience Sky, I'll get there." Chris told her. "But first, I have an announcement…. It's merge time! That's right, both teams are kaput. Which is good because this season's writers chose some _pretty_ bad team names… I'm probably gonna get in trouble for that one."

"Yes, I knew I was right." Harold quietly celebrated.

"No more teams, eh." Jo remarked. "That's not too bad."

"Sha-blam! Lightning can adapt to any situation." Lightning bragged. "He can handle the change."

"Glad to see you're all reacting so positively." Chris told them. "No, actually, I'm not. Negativity translates to good rating according to our charts."

"Can ya just get to the part where you explain the challenge." Anne Maria irritably requested. "I don't wanna wait around."

"Fine, Ms. Pushy, we'll do it your way." Chris mockingly told her. "Today's challenge is based on the fantasy genre and-"

"Hold up, didn't we already do this?" Leshawna asked.

"Yeah, there was those crazy wizards or whatever." Scott remembered.

"This is completely different." Chris insisted. "That was based on Labyrinth, this is something the producers came up with on their own. Instead of having to fight a duo of evil wizards, you'll be rescuing a princess from an evil knight."

Chris seemed to suddenly stop his explanation.

"I said: _An evil knight_." Chris repeated himself as he glanced off camera, sounding slightly angry.

Chef entered the room.

"Nope, I ain't doin' this." Chef told Chris.

"But Chef, you're supposed to be in a suit of armour right now." Chris replied.

"You have any idea how hot and sweaty that thing is?" Chef asked. "Besides, this whole challenge is virtual anyway."

"Yeah, but it's more fun." Chris argued.

"I ain't doin' it, man. That thing was way too tight." Chef said.

"Fine, you don't have to wear the armour." Chris agreed before turning back to the contestants. "So anyway, each of you will be working through many obstacles to find this evil knight in his tower. But, once he's defeated, you still have on goal left. You must rescue the beautiful princess."

Once again, Chris stopped his explanation as if waiting for someone else.

"Ugh, I said: _The beautiful princess._ " Chris repeated, looking off camera again. "Seriously, Ella! That was your cue!"

After this second cue, Ella happily pranced into the room.

"I am so sorry Lord Christopher." Ella apologized. "But there was the _prettiest_ butterfly just outside."

"Anyway, Ella here will be your princess in this challenge." Chris explained.

"Hello there, _Prince David_." Ella excitedly waved at Dave.

"Oh… Hi." Dave replied, sounding uncomfortable.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Dave)**

"Gonna be honest, I was _not_ all that happy about Ella being in this challenge." Dave admitted. "It isn't that I _hate_ her or anything. It's just... Nobody her age should be dressing or acting the way she does. It's not normal."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sky)**

"You know, I'm glad Ella was the guest this time." Sky told the audience. "It gave Dave a distraction from having to interact with me. Which is something I'm really dreading."

* * *

"All right, so, in summation: Defeat the knight, save the princess." Chris recapped.

"Sounds simple enough." Scott remarked.

"Trust me, it won't be." Chris told him. "All right, get into those machines."

The contestants, as well as Ella and Chef, sat down in the metal chairs and put the helmets with visors over their faces.

"Enjoy your fantastical adventure." Chris told them as he booted up the machine in the middle of the room.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Harold)**

"If I'm honest, I was a bit nervous about this challenge." Harold admitted. "What with it being the first of the merge and all. But I figured I'd played enough fantasy video games to get what to do."

* * *

Inside the virtual world, the contestants found themselves waking up sitting in a grand finely decorated banquet hall of a castle. All the contestants have been dressed in fairy tale-esque finery.

"Aw man, where are we now…" Dave wondered as he looked around.

"I dunno, but I'm diggin' this outfit." Anne Maria remarked as she looked down at the new dress she was wearing.

"Well, wherever we are, it looks like it belongs to royalty." Sky noted.

Lightning looked over at Jo and began laughing.

"What's so funny?" Jo asked, sounding a mix of angry and confused.

"Haha! Man, the computer messed up!" Lightning explained, still laughing. "It gave you a dress, dude. That is _hilarious_!"

"You idiot." Jo told him. "Have have you not gotten it yet?"

"Got what?" Lightning asked.

"I'm a girl!" Jo yelled at him. "How isn't that clear yet?"

"Man, you've got a _wacky_ sense of humour." Lightning remarked.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jo)**

"Not only was I stuck in that stupid dress the entire challenge but I had to put up with Lightning _still_ not getting it." Jo remarked. "Sometimes, I just hate everything."

* * *

The wooden door at one end of the banquet hall swung open to reveal Chris dressed up like a king on the other side.

"Hear ye, hear ye. I, King Christopher, am here to address the royal court, which is you." Chris dramatically announced.

"Oh no, why are you here?" Dave asked.

"Fear not, I am here to announce to you your goal." Chris explained. "The fair princess Ella has been kidnapped by an evil knight."

"We already know this part." Harold pointed out.

"Let me finish okay." Chris told him. "I need you all to try and save her. Quickly, to the armoury. That is where the finest weapons in the land rest."

"Really?" Leshawna asked. "You put yourself into this world just to tell us that?"

"I wanted to dress up, okay!" Chris replied. "Fine, back to being the boring host now."

Chris was engulfed in a bright light and he disappeared.

"Okay… That kind got awkward at the end." Sky noted.

"Well, you heard him. Let's check out the armoury." Scott told the others.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Leshawna)**

"I was real glad to hear about that armoury thing." Leshawna remarked. "That dress I had, it felt really weird when I was wearin' it."

* * *

After wandering through the castle for a bit, the contestants found a room with various shelves and rocks filled with weapons.

"Wow, this place has got _a lot_ of stuff that can kill you." Anne Maria noted as she looked around the arsenal.

"Ooh, these things look fun." Lightning remarked as he went up to a rack of mace. "Hmm, which one?"

Shawn went over to Lightning.

"You sure you can lift those things?" Shawn asked. "I know I sure can't."

"Pfft, 'course Lightning can." Lightning replied as he grabbed a mace from the rack. "Sha-blam!"

Lightning swung the mace around and nearly hit Shawn.

"Whoa! Watch it!" Shawn exclaimed as he backed away. "I'm gonna go grab a weapon that's more my speed. Maybe a sword or something."

Elsewhere in the armoury, over by a display case of magic wands, Dave and Scott were looking at them.

"Ooh, look at these." Dave remarked. "You think we should use them?"

"How hard could it be?" Scott asked. "If those two idiots from the labyrinth challenge could do magic, so can we. All you've gotta do is say something and magic happens."

"It can't be that simple." Dave told him.

"Who cares, it's just fake magic. What's the worst that could happen." Scott said.

Scott opened the case and grabbed two wands from it.

"And you're absolutely sure this is safe?" Dave asked.

"Nope." Scott replied. "But I'm sure it won't be that bad."

Over by a shelf of various bows and arrows, Anne Maria was looking at her options.

"Hmm… These don't look half bad." Anne Maria remarked. "It'd so good with that dagger I picked up."

Anne Maria grabbed a crossbow off the shelf.

"Ooh, pretty nice." Anne Maria commented.

Sky and Jo walked over to the area.

"All right, clear out." Jo told Anne Maria. "Me and Sky are in the market for a bow."

"Whateva, I finished already." Anne Maria replied as she walked away.

"So Jo, which one of these bows should we choose?" Sky asked.

"I dunno. They all kinda look the same to me." Jo admitted. "How 'bout you pick."

"Yeah, they look the same to me too." Sky confessed. "I'm sure it won't make a difference."

Meanwhile, over by a display of axes, Leshawna and Harold observed the various weapons in front of them.

"Man, those things look like they'd do some real damage." Leshawna commented. "Think I should take on of 'em?"

"Seems like you could swing it." Harold remarked. "Me personally, I've mastered the nunchucks. But that's not an option. So I think I'll just pick a sword."

"So I should take?" Leshawna asked. "Just double checking."

"Indeed you should." Harold replied. "It may not be the most ladylike, but it would suit you."

"Oh, thank you?" Leshawna confusedly responded.

"You're welcome." Harold said.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Leshawna)**

"I think I'm starting to warm up to Harold's advances a bit." Leshawna admitted. "Not that I'm tellin' him that or anything. Still not totally sure if I'm ready for a relationship with him yet."

* * *

The scene moved ahead to later with the contestants leaving the castle they were in through a grand main entrance.

"Well, we're finally out of the castle." Sky remarked. "Now what?"

"I guess we should figure out where Ella's being kept." Jo told her partner.

"Uh, how 'bout that thing?" Lightning asked, pointing upwards.

The other contestants looked up and saw a mountain ahead of them with a stone tower on top.

"Yeah… That looks like where I'd hide a princess." Shawn remarked. "Not that that's something I do on a regular basis."

"The fact that you said that makes it sound like it _is_." Dave pointed out.

"Okay everyone, clearly, only one of us can win." Anne Maria stated. "So, I say we all start runnin' up to that tower and whoever gets up there first wins. Deal?"

"I guess." Harold replied.

"In that case… Se ya, suckers!" Anne Maria cheered as she began running towards the mountain with the tower up on it.

"Yo! Wait up!" Lightning exclaimed.

All the other contestants began running towards the mountain.

* * *

 **(Confessionals: Anne Maria)**

"I feel like what I did was a cheap move." Anne Maria remarked. "But hey, when you're wearin' a dress and you ain't that athletic, you've gotta take any path to victory you can."

* * *

Meanwhile, inside the tower at the very top of the hill, Ella found herself waking inside a small room with only a couch in it.

"Hmm? Where am I?" Ella wondered. "This room certainly is due to be decorated."

The door at the other end of the room swung open to reveal Chef in a full suit of armour.

"Ah! Stay back evil knight!" Ella exclaimed.

"Relax, girl. It's only me." Chef told her as he flipped up the visor on his armour.

"Oh, I know." Ella replied. "But you should be in character. I've always wanted to be a _real_ princess so I need everything to be just right."

"Listen, lady, I ain't up for that." Chef said. "Until those bozos come knockin' at my door, I'm just Chef."

"Very well. If that's what you wish." Ella told him.

"Man… This girl's weirder than I remember…" Chef mumbled to himself.

"What was that?" Ella asked.

"Nothin' you care about." Chef stated.

Meanwhile, back towards the base of the mountain, Scott was in the front of the group of racing contestants with Dave trailing behind him.

"Scott! Wait up…" Dave panted as he ran. "You are surprisingly fast!"

"Thank you very much." Scott replied. "I like to pride myself on my abilities."

Scott suddenly came to a halt when he saw a rope bridge in front of him. This caused Dave to stop as well.

"As much as I like slowing down, I'd like to know why we stopped…" Dave requested, sounding out of breath.

"Anything that stands out as much as this bridge has got to be a trap." Scott explained. "We need to move forward with caution."

"If it means we slow down, I'm all for it." Dave replied.

Dave and Scott began slowly and carefully crossing the bridge together.

"Y'know, maybe there isn't anything that bad up here." Dave commented.

Just then, a large dog with pitch black fur, razor sharp claws and teeth, and glowing orange eyes jumped down from a ledge above the bridge, blocking Scott and Dave's path. The oversized dog snarled at the two of them.

"Uh…. What's that thing?" Dave asked.

"Well, I've never _seen_ a hellhound before, but something tells me that thing's a hellhound." Scott replied.

The hellhound bared its teeth and drew nearer.

"All right, let me handle this." Scott said.

Scott grabbed the wand he took before and pointed it at the slowly oncoming hellhound.

"Hey, what spell should I use?" Scott asked Dave.

"Anything!" Dave nervously exclaimed as the hellhound sped up how fast it was running.

"Uh, lightning bolt!" Scott exclaimed.

A stream of lightning shot out of the wand at the killer dog. The lightning hit the hellhound and knocked it back. However, the force from the bolt of energy knocked back Scott so far he was launched off the bridge and into the side of the mountain.

"Oof!" Scott exclaimed. "Uh oh… This is bad…"

Scott slid off the side of the mountain, tumbling downwards to his virtual death.

"Uh… Scott? I'm assuming you're dead now." Dave nervously said. "But on the bright side, at least the hellhounds is-"

Dave was cut off by a growling noise. He looked over and saw the monstrous canine getting up from being knocked down.

"Oh come on!" Dave exclaimed in panic and frustration.

The hellhound began running at Dave. This caused Dave to begin running away from the creature chasing him.

"This is not a good start!" Dave screamed.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Scott)**

"Well, that certainly wasn't how I wanted or expected to get taken out." Scott remarked.

* * *

Further behind on the path, Sky and Jo were running up the path in the mountain.

"Hey, do you hear screaming?" Sky asked.

"Nope. I'm too busy focusing on moving ahead to care about things like that." Jo stated. "We left most of the other guys in the dust, so if we hear screaming that's probably a good sign for us."

"I dunno, it seems more like a sign that we should be careful." Sky said.

"Until I see something definitive, I'm not worrying." Jo told Sky.

Suddenly, Dave ran past both girls.

"Gangway! Monster behind me!" Dave shouted as he fled.

"Is that definitive enough?" Sky asked.

"Seems like it." Jo replied. "Wonder what's got him spooked."

"Uh… Maybe _that_." Sky replied, pointing ahead.

Jo looked over and saw the hellhound from before charging at them.

"All right, no need to panic." Jo stated, grabbing for her bow. "All I've gotta do is-"

Jo was suddenly cut off when the hellhound pounced on her, pinning the athlete down and scattering her bow and arrows. She quickly put her hands around the dog's neck, holding it back from biting her.

"Ah! Sky! Get this thing off of me before it rips my face off!" Jo ordered, barely able to fight off the beast. "Now!"

"R-right!" Sky nervously replied as she took out the crossbow she got from the armoury. "This thing can't be that hard to use."

Sky loaded a bolt into the crossbow.

"Hurry!" Jo barked, sounding increasingly panicked as the hellhound's face drew closer to hers.

Sky fired off her crossbow which hit the dog with such force that it tumbled off of Jo and down the side of the mountain.

"I did it!" Sky cheered.

"Good for you…" Jo muttered as she grabbed her scattered arrows and bow from the ground. "Y'know, I don't think what you did was physically possible. And there probably should've been some blood too."

"Eh, it's a fairy tale. Things don't make sense sometimes." Sky remarked.

"Well, as long as I'm not killed by a feral dog monster, I won't question it." Jo said. "C'mon, let's keep going. Nothing can stop us now!"

Shawn and Lightning then ran past the two girls.

"Dammit…" Jo grumbled.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jo)**

"I don't believe in jinxes… But _that_ might've been some compelling evidence right there." Jo told the camera.

* * *

The camera focused on Shawn and Lightning running up the mountain.

"Sha-zoom! We're makin' great time!" Lightning cheered. "Nothing's gonna stop us!"

"Don't get too cocky." Shawn told him. "We could still lose."

"Nah, we passed Jo and the short girl, hair girl was already in our dust, and Lightning saw that one guy runnin' away." Lightning listed. "We've got this thing in the bag."

"Well, we did pass that bridge a little bit ago. That's gotta be some sort of a marker of progress." Shawn remarked.

"Yeah, we can take whatever comes next." Lightning declared.

After running for a few more moments, both boys came across the entrance to a cave causing them both to stop.

"You think we should slow down in here?" Shawn asked,

"Nah, it can't be that dark in there." Lightning brushed "C'mon, let's keep running."

Shawn complied and the two of them ran into the dark cave.

"I still don't think this is very safe." Shawn commented.

"Ah, your eyes'll get used to it being dark." Lightning told him. "Lightning knows. He likes to swim at night sometimes."

Suddenly, Shawn stopped for seemingly no reason.

"Hold up, do you hear that?" Shawn asked.

"Maybe. Can ya be more specific?" Lightning replied, stopping too.

"I feel like someone's in here with us." Shawn explained.

"My oh my, aren't you the perceptive one." An unfamiliar female voice replied.

"Wh-who's there?" Lightning asked as he and Shawn stopped in their tracks. "Lightning'll sha-fight ya, man."

"Now, now, there's no need for that." The sinister female voice continued.

"Show yourself!" Shawn demanded, sounding a little worried. "We're not afraid of you."

"If you insist." The voice replied.

A figure emerged from the darkness ahead of them. Once it was closer the two boys saw that the creature appeared to be a larger than normal lioness with the wings of a large bird and the head of a human woman.

"'Kay, Lightning was more afraid of you when he didn't know what you were." Lightning admitted.

"What even are you?" Shawn asked.

"The others who have tried to come through here have called me the Sphinx of the cave." The animal-woman replied.

"What others?" Shawn asked.

"Exactly." The Sphinx replied. "I ate them all. And _you two_ are next."

"H-hold on, if I know anything about mythology, Sphinx's are supposed to ask us riddles." Shawn told her. "And if we get it right, you won't kill us."

"Are you kidding?" The Sphinx asked. "That's an awful way to go about eating lunch. I'm just going to kill you now."

"Ah! Run!" Shawn screamed as he began to flee.

Lightning kicked the Sphinx in the nose and began running after Shawn.

"Ow!" The Sphinx exclaimed. "Grr! I'll be sure to make your death extra gruesome!"

* * *

 **(Confessional: Shawn)**

"Despite that being terrifying, it still isn't as bad as being chased by zombies." Shawn stated.

* * *

Meanwhile, further down the mountain, Harold and Leshawna were running together.

"Leshawna… I'm getting tired…" Harold panted.

"We can't slow down, Harold." Leshawna told him. "I'm pretty sure we're already in the very back?"

"Wait, even Anne Maria's ahead of us?" Harold asked.

"Well, no, I don't think I've seen her pass us." Leshawna replied.

"Gosh, that's still pretty bad though." Harold remarked. "How do you think we can catch up?"

"Hey, I'm stumped here." Leshawna said.

The two continued running in silence for a few moments until Harold accidentally tripped over a small rock and slammed face first into the ground.

"Gosh… How did I not see that?" Harold weakly muttered.

"We are _not_ going to catch up at this rate." Leshawna commented as she helped Harold up from the ground.

"I'll be okay, I just need a few seconds to brush it off." Harold told Leshawna as he leaned on the wall of the mountain he was ascending.

A section of the wall Harold leaned into pushed inwards.

"Huh? What's going on?" Harold wondered as he jolted back from the sinking portion of the wall.

A slab of stone on the side of the mountain slid open to reveal some sort of passageway.

"Hmm… Looks like a tunnel." Harold remarked. "But who built it?"

"Who cares, if it gets us out of the back, I'll take it." Leshawna replied.

"Is that the wisest decision?" Harold asked.

"Most likely not." Leshawna admitted. "But it'll probably lead us somewhere better than all the way in the back."

"All right, let's head in there." Harold said.

Harold and Leshawna entered the newly discovered tunnel.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Harold)**

"It was against my better judgment to go into that cave." Harold admitted. "But, I didn't want to be too disagreeable with Leshawna. I still want to be with her after all. Plus, she was right when she said it was a better plan than just running in the back."

* * *

Even further back down the mountain, Anne Maria ran by herself.

"Ugh! This is so frustrating!" Anne Maria yelled to herself. "What the hell happened to my lead! How can this get worse?"

Anne Maria looked forward and saw Dave running towards her.

"Wait, what the-" Anne Maria began before Dave crashed right into her, causing both of them to end up in a heap.

The two of them got up from the ground muttering inaudible things to themselves.

"Ow… What happened?" Dave asked as he rubbed his head in pain.

"You idiot! Whadda ya think you're doing!?" Anne Maria snapped at him. "You're supposed to be goin' the other way!"

"L-look I was just attacked by a crazy dog monster." Dave explained.

"I always love it when stories start like that." Anne Maria sarcastically remarked.

"I'm serious!" Dave insisted. "Scott fell off the mountain and I've been running ever since."

"That's about the worst plan I've heard in a while." Anne Maria said.

"Look, I was panicking." Dave stated. "Can I please just follow you now."

"Ah, whatever." Anne Maria replied. "I guess I might as well talk to someone."

The two of them began running up the mountain together.

"Wow, it is _a lot_ harder to do this uphill…" Dave realized as he ran.

"Way to go there, genius." Anne Maria sarcastically told him. "Sorry, for soundin' so rude. I'm just a little sore from you crashin' into me."

"I get it." Dave replied.

As they were running, Dave noticed the tunnel Harold opened up earlier.

"Whoa!" Dave exclaimed, stopping to look at the tunnel. "What's this?"

"Huh? What're you lookin' at?" Anne Maria asked, halting as well.

"I dunno. I sure didn't notice it on the way down here though." Dave commented.

"Should we go in?" Anne Maria asked.

"Well, it might help me regain my lead." Dave remarked. "And _you_ might actually get a lead."

"All right, let's do it then." Anne Maria replied.

The two of them entered the passage.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Anne Maria)**

"I know me and Dave were on the same team for the whole game, but I just ain't sure I really like or trust him." Anne Maria told the camera. "I don't think there's anything about his personality that's wrong. He's just… Not my type."

* * *

Meanwhile, much further up the mountain, Lightning and Shawn were still being chased by the furious Sphinx.

"Wow! That lion-bird-lady's got some endurance!" Lightning exclaimed as he ran.

"I love it when I get to chase my supper!" The Sphinx cheered in a psychotic fashion. "I really work up an appetite!"

"Y'know, we should really try fighting back." Shawn suggested to Lightning. "Something tells me that this Sphinx isn't giving up."

"Oh yeah, Lightning's got that mace." Lightning remembered. "Woo! Let's do this thing!"

Shawn and Lightning turned around and faced the Sphinx coming towards them. Lightning pulled out his mace and Shawn grabbed his sword.

"You know, she looks scarier when she's charging at you." Shawn realized.

"Thank you!" The Sphinx exclaimed as she jumped in the air

Once the Sphinx was close enough, Lightning swung his mace at it mid-air. The mace hit the Sphinx in the face and knocked her off the side of the mountain.

"And that takes care of that." Lightning proudly stated.

The celebration was cut short when the Sphinx flew up from the area she fell off of.

"I'm not done yet!" The Sphinx declared.

"Aw man, Lightning forgot about the wings." Lightning remarked.

"How is her face not completely mangled!" Shawn exclaimed in disbelief.

"Guess Chris wanted to keep this show kinda PG." Lightning casually replied.

"Prepare to die!" The Sphinx exclaimed as it dove at the two boys from the air.

Shawn, in a panic, held his sword out in front of him. The Sphinx flew right into the sword, accidentally impaling itself in a completely bloodless way.

"Gah!" The Sphinx cried out in pain. "Yep… That'll do it…"

The Sphinx collapsed and slid off the sword.

"Y'know, I was kinda expecting more." Lightning admitted.

"I'm still bothered by the lack of blood." Shawn remarked. "That shark in the last challenge definitely had blood."

"Man, don't question it." Lightning told him. "C'mon, let's keep goin'. We're still in the lead."

At that moment, Jo and Sky ran past the two of them.

"Sha-dammit!" Lightning exclaimed. "You've gotta be kiddin' Lightning."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Shawn)**

"I know it's really weird for me to keep saying this, but I can't be the only one who thought the fact that there was no blood to be confusing." Shawn said. "I should probably stop mentioning it before it gets creepy."

* * *

The scene shifted over to Jo and Sky running up the mountain.

"Woo!" Jo cheered. "Back to the front, baby!"

"Don't get too excited." Sky told her. "There's still a lot that can happen before we reach the tower."

"Probably a good idea." Jo admitted. "Don't want to fall into hubris and all that. But I'm just saying, we haven't really run into any trouble since that giant dog thing."

"True." Sky remarked. "But, I'm pretty sure when we passed Shawn and Lightning they were next to sort of a hybrid lion-woman-thing."

"All right, fair point." Jo said. "I'll keep an eye out for any monsters."

The duo ran without talking for a few moments.

"Think we should slow down?" Sky broke the silence. "We're pretty far ahead."

"Yeah, might as well." Jo agreed.

The two of them slowed their running.

"Ah, smooth sailing from here." Jo remarked.

"What did I say about getting cocky?" Sky asked.

"Right, right. Forgot about that." Jo said.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jo)**

"You know, when I first started this season, I didn't see me and Sky really being friends." Jo admitted. "Come to think of it I didn't expect a lot of the stuff that happened this season to happen."

* * *

Meanwhile, Harold and Leshawna were walking through an underground tunnel inside the mountain.

"So, you think this place is getting us ahead?" Leshawna asked.

"Most likely." Harold responded. "Why would a place like this be included if there was no purpose to it."

"To mess with us?" Leshawna suggested.

"Well, it's too late to go back now." Harold pointed out.

"Yeah, that is true." Leshawna remarked. "On the bright side, I ain't heard anyone down here. If there were any monsters wanting to kill us, they'd have done it by now."

"Hold on, I actually think I hear something." Harold realized. "Let's be quiet."

The two of them stopped moving and talking and heard the sound of footsteps slowly approaching them from behind.

"All right… Get ready to fight whoever's there…." Leshawna whispered to Harold.

Leshawna took out her axe and Harold unsheathed his sword.

"Okay… Here we go." Harold said.

The footsteps drew nearer two shadowy figures became visible.

"Should we attack?" Leshawna asked.

"Let's get a better look first." Harold answered. "Maybe they're friendly."

The two figures came closer and once they were in view, it was clear that they were actually Anne Maria and Dave.

"What the- What are you two doing out here?" Leshawna asked.

"Uh, we could ask you the same thing." Dave pointed out. "Also, better question, why does it look like you were planning to attack us?"

"Um… Because, we kind of were." Harold admitted. "Sorry, we thought you were monsters for a second."

"Well, since we both don't mean each other no harm, let's just keep goin' together." Anne Maria suggested.

"Sure, let's do that." Leshawna agreed.

The foursome continued walking through the tunnel together.

"Hold up, I think I hear more footsteps." Harold noted after a few moments.

"Oh no, not again." Leshawna remarked.

"No, I hear it too." Dave added. "Let's all be quiet."

The group fell silent and heard loud footsteps approaching them.

"Okay… That sounds really bad." Anne Maria remarked.

"Should we panic?" Dave asked.

"That's never a good plan." Harold told him. "We should, however, get ready for a fight."

Harold drew his sword.

"That's your cue to go do the same by the way." Harold informed the other three as the booming footsteps got closer.

"We figured." Anne Maria replied, taking out her crossbow.

Leshawna grabbed her axe and Dave pulled out his wand.

"Well, whatever's there, we've got it outnumbered at least." Dave remarked.

After a few more moments, a tall muscular humanoid with only a loincloth carrying a wooden club came out of the shadows. The humanoid only had a singular eye in the middle of their forehead and they were so tall their head nearly scraped the ceiling.

"Yep, that's definitely a cyclops." Harold remarked.

"Maybe it's friendly…" Dave suggested, sounding a mix of hopeful and nervous.

The Cyclops let out a loud roar and threateningly raised its club in the air.

"It's not!" Dave screamed.

"Everyone attack!" Leshawna ordered.

Anne Maria fired a bolt from her crossbow. The arrow hit the cyclops with the chest but caused no reaction from it.

"Damn, that thing's got some tough skin." Anne Maria remarked.

"Hurrah! Prepare to fall!" Harold proclaimed as he ran at the Cyclops with his sword raised.

Harold ran to the foot of the Cyclops and stabbed it in the toe. The creature roared in pain and swung its club at Harold. He was hit so hard by the club that he slammed into the wall of the cave before sliding down the said wall on to the floor.

"Gosh… I don't feel so well…" Harold weakly trailed off.

Harold began glowing a blue light. The blue light quickly absorbed Harold and caused him to disappear into it.

"So… Is he dead?" Dave asked.

"I… I think so." Leshawna replied.

"Guys! Did you forget about the giant crazy one-eyed guy trying to smash us!" Anne Maria explained. "We need to get rid of him!"

The Cyclops roared once again.

"Uh… I can try something." Dave nervously told the other two before holding his wand up to the Cyclops. "B-blinding light!"

A ray of white light shot out of the wand and hit the Cyclops in the eye. This caused the creature the drop its club and put both hands over their eye. The Cyclops stumbled around the cave blindly.

"And now this is the part where we run past it!" Dave explained, still sounding nervous.

Dave began running down the tunnel with Anne Maria and Leshawna quickly following suit. Dave and Anne Maria ran between the legs of the Cyclops. Leshawna stopped right as she made it to the foot of the Cyclops.

" _This_ is for Harold!" Leshawna said as she swung her axe at the Cyclops' foot.

The Cyclops yelled out in pain again and Leshawna ran after the other two.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Leshawna)**

"As risky as it was to hit that big guy, Harold deserved better than being hit by a cyclops." Leshawna told the camera.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Harold)**

"You know, up until the point where I died, I was actually really enjoying the challenge." Harold remarked. "On the bright side, I get to tell people I got to fight a cyclops."

* * *

Meanwhile, inside the tower at the top of the mountain, Chef was by himself near a door and a flight of spiral stairs.

"Man, this place is tiny." Chef remarked. "Pretty sure that princess has got more room than I do. I was expecting a knight to have a better place for himself."

Chef looked around the room with a bored expression on his face.

"When are those kids gonna get here?" Chef wondered.

Just then, a loud pounding on Chef's door was heard.

"Dang it! Just had to open my big fat mouth!" Chef exclaimed.

"All right! Open up!" Jo demanded from the other side. "We're here to save the princess and all that jazz!"

"Ha! How 'bout you get in on your own, girlie." Chef replied.

The scene switched to the outside of the tower with Jo and Sky standing by the door.

"Dang it!" Jo exclaimed before looking over at Sky. "All right, help me break down this door."

"All right. This had better work." Sky replied.

"On three we break down the door." Jo told her. "One… Two… Three!"

The duo rammed themselves into the door but were unable to break it down.

"I think we need to try harder." Sky remarked as they backed up from the door.

Just then, Shawn and Lightning ran up to the tower.

"Yo! What'cha doing up here, guys?" Lightning asked.

"We can't get in." Sky explained.

"We can help." Shawn offered.

"Sha-what?" Lightning asked. "Shawn, dude, they're not on our side anymore."

"Yeah, but if they can't get in, neither can we." Shawn pointed out.

"That's true." Lightning admitted. "All right, Lightning's gonna help you guys. But he's gonna be the one who gets to save the princess."

Back inside the tower, Chef was lounging on a chair by the wall.

"Man, those guys sure are takin' their sweet time." Chef remarked.

"Has anyone come to save me yet!" Ella called down from upstairs.

"Yeah! But they ain't gettin' in!" Chef called back.

"Well let me know when they do!" Ella replied, still sounding cheery and casual.

Chef leaned back in his chair.

"Somethin' tells me I'm not gonna have to worry about them for a while." Chef told himself.

Just then, a panel of wood on the floor began to move upwards.

"What the heck!" Chef exclaimed as he sprung up from the chair. "What's goin' on there?"

Chef went over to the panel of wood and stood on it, keeping it down.

"Hey! Who's up there?" Dave's voice asked from below.

"The knight, that's who." Chef replied.

"All right everyone, we need to push this guy off." Anne Maria told the other two. "Let's go!"

Chef felt the contestants below him attempt to push the panel of wood up with no success.

"Ha, sorry. Nothing's gonna stop me." Chef stated.

Just then, the door was broken down to reveal the four contestants on the other side.

"Sha-blam!" Lightning cheered, drawing his weapon. "We're takin' you down, knight dude."

"Not without a fight you ain't." Chef replied as he stepped forward and took out his sword.

The panel of wood behind Chef was lifted and Anne Maria, Leshawna, and Dave climbed out from it.

"You also have to deal with us too." Leshawna triumphantly added.

"Aw dang it, I shouldn't have moved." Chef remarked. "Wh-whatever! I can't still whoop all y'all to next Sunday! Bring it!"

Jo shot an arrow from her bow that hit Chef in the hand, causing him to drop the sword.

"Ow! Dammit!" Chef exclaimed. "Gah! Forget about this. Y'all can go ahead and save the princess."

"Wait, really?" Sky asked.

"I didn't even wanna be in this challenge. Chris just insisted on it." Chef stated. "Go have fun fighting over your fake princess. She's upstairs."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sky)**

"It was actually pretty smart for Chef to give up." Sky remarked. "He was expecting us to tear each other apart trying to win. And he was right."

* * *

The contestants inside the tower began rushing up the staircase to reach Ella.

"I'm leaving all of you in the dust!" Jo proclaimed as she ran to the front of the group. "No offence, Sky!"

"None taken." Sky replied as she rushed up the stairs in the middle of the crowd.

Shawn grabbed on to Jo's shoulder and pulled on her.

"Hey!" Jo exclaimed as she lost her balance.

Jo lost her balance and fell on top of Shawn. The two of them tumbled down the stairs, landing on top of Sky in the process. The trio landed in a pile at the foot of the stairs.

"Ow…" Shawn weakly murmured.

The scene switched to Ella relaxing inside her room.

"Oh, when shall my beautiful prince arrive?" Ella over dramatically wondered.

There was a long pause, Ella seemingly waiting for something.

"Hmmm… I thought Chef said that someone was here." Ella remarked.

Suddenly, the door opened and Dave rushed in breathing heavily with a panicked look on his face.

"My prince! You made it!" Ella cheered.

"I have no idea how I got in here before everyone else and I'm not sure if I can do it ever again…" Dave stated, sounding out of breath.

Dave turned to the door and took out his magic wand.

"Um, locking spell!" Dave exclaimed as he pointed at the doorknob.

A stream of purple energy hit the doorknob.

"I have no idea if that worked." Dave remarked before turning to Ella. "Oh, hi there. I'm here to rescue you."

"How wonderful." Ella replied as she approached Dave. "But alas, I am cursed to stay in this tower unless freed by true loves kiss."

"Wait, what?" Dave asked, sounding shocked and confused. "You're making that up."

"Nope, that is exactly what Chris told me." Ella stated. "I always tell the truth."

"Good point." Dave admitted. "Fine, I'll give you a quick kiss on the cheek. Deal?"

"It has to be on the lips." Ella told him.

"All right, fine." Dave replied. "Let's get this over with."

Dave leaned forward slightly and kissed Ella. Soon, the two of them began to glow a blue light. This sudden development caused Ella to pull away from the kiss.

"Oh my, look what the power of our love is doing." Ella commented.

"Actually it always does this when the challenge is over." Dave told her.

"Oh… I see." Ella replied. "Drat."

The duo was swallowed up by the light.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Dave)**

"Kissing Ella was kinda uncomfortable at first." Dave admitted. "But I actually got used to it pretty fast. Also, I can totally rub this in Sky's face. I'm not sure if it'll work but I'm going to try."

* * *

Back in the real world, the contestants, as well as Ella and Chef, woke up from the machine, taking off their helmets.

"It's about time." Scott remarked. "Me and Harold were bored out of our skulls waiting out here."

"Who won?" Harold asked.

"I think Dave." Anne Maria replied as she and the other contestants stood up from their chairs. "I ain't so sure though."

"Oh, Prince David definitely won." Ella stated in a slightly starstruck manner.

"Yeah… What she said." Chris murmured before clearing his throat. "Uh, anyway, as host here, I can also affirm that Dave is the winner. Somehow."

"Unbelievable…" Jo angrily muttered to herself.

"Anywho, Chef's gonna make you all something to eat." Chris continued. "So you all can go enjoy that while thinking about who you want to eliminate. Sounds fun, eh?"

The scene changed to later in the day with all the competitors seated in the cafeteria. Sky, Jo, Dave, and Scott sat at the first table and Shawn, Lightning, Anne Maria, Leshawna, and Harold at the second. The camera focused on the latter table.

"So… How exactly was Dave able to win?" Anne Maria asked. "I mean, it's better than Jo or whatever but I still ain't clear on how he made it all the way up the stairs."

"Well, _I_ know that I'm the reason Jo didn't make it up." Shawn replied. "I was trying to get in front but I accidentally made us _both_ fall down the stairs. If there were zombies at the bottom of there that would've been even worse."

"Hold up, how'd Dave run past you?" Leshawna asked, pointing at Lightning. "You look like you can outrun him, easy."

"Hey man, I had to fight a crazy lion-lady. It tired me out." Lightning defended.

"It's too late to change the past." Harold said. "Right now, we should probably examine who we each want to vote for."

"Hmm, good idea." Lightning remarked before looking over at Shawn. "Let's go talk outside. Y'know, 'bout who we're votin' for."

"Yeah, I got it." Shawn replied.

Shawn and Lightning stood up and left the mess hall.

"Speakin' of which, who do youse two plan on voting for?" Anne Maria asked Leshawna and Harold.

"I'm thinking of maybe Scott." Harold replied. "He seems like the biggest threat."

"Yeah, same." Leshawna agreed. "There's just somethin' about his face that makes me wanna not trust him. How 'bout you, Anne? Who're you eyeing?"

"I dunno, maybe one of them guys from the other team." Anne Maria answered. "Sky and Shawn both look like they could outsmart me, and Jo and Lightning can _definitely_ out muscle me."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Anne Maria)**

"I'm just gonna say it, I'm at a disadvantage compared to everyone else." Anne Maria told the camera. "Oh, sure, I'm smokin' hot, but in the athletics or brains department, I'm pretty meh. So, I've gotta get rid of anyone who can do better than me if I wanna win."

* * *

The scene switched over to the other table.

"All right, seriously, I'm real ticked off at this." Jo started. "How were _you_ , of all people, able to win when someone capable like me, or Sky, or even _Anne Maria_ wasn't?"

Jo angrily glared at Dave.

"Uh… I…. I don't know…." Dave nervously replied before turning his attention to Sky. "B-but, all I do know is that I totally got to kiss Ella."

There was a long silence as nobody else really knew how to respond to Dave's comment.

"Um… Good for you." Sky told Dave, sounding confused.

"Buddy, I don't see how this is relevant." Scott told Dave.

"C'mon Sky, aren't you at least a little jealous?" Dave asked, ignoring Scott.

"Not really, if anything, I'm relieved." Sky replied. "Maybe you can finally get your mind off getting me to apologize for something that wasn't my fault."

"Really? Not even just a little?" Dave continued to ask. "'Cause it seemed like you might've liked me just a little back on Pahkitew Island."

"No, really. I'm not affected by this." Sky told him. "In fact, you're starting to _annoy_ me more than anything else."

"Yeah, how about you save your stupid teenage drama for later." Jo told Dave. "You should do something practical with your time. Like figuring out who you want to vote off."

"Good idea." Scott remarked. "Dave, come with me to the trailer. We have some business."

"Wait, what?" Dave asked. "O-okay."

Dave and Scott stood up and walked away from the table.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sky)**

"To be honest, I'm actually glad I didn't win." Sky remarked. "Personally, I wouldn't want to kiss Ella. There's just something about her that's just… Off."

* * *

"All right, now that they're gone we can talk votes." Jo told Sky. "I'm aiming for Shawn or Lightning."

"Why them?" Sky asked.

"Because, it's obvious the two of them are in an alliance." Jo explained. "Same with Scott and Dave but I don't see them going much further. Especially with how inept Dave seems. Anyway, we've got the numbers on our side. The question is, which should we vote for."

"Lightning doesn't seem smart so he's definitely less of a threat." Sky stated. "I hate to say this… But maybe Shawn. I dunno though. We're kind of friends."

"You can still be friends after the show." Jo told her. "But right now, you need to see him as an enemy."

"Fine…" Sky sighed. "Winning that prize money sure would be nice."

"Great, then vote for Shawn." Jo said. "Also, maybe you should use that idol you found too. Something tells me we might need it."

The scene changed to Lightning and Shawn behind the cafeteria building talking.

"Okay… Why did you lead me back here to talk about our votes?" Shawn asked. "Seriously? I don't want to smell what Chef's been throwing out unless it's being used to repel zombies."

"Hey man, I thought you'd like it back here since you like sleepin' in trash cans and whatever." Lightning reasoned as he took a seat on top of a garbage can.

"Uh huh…" Shawn confusedly trailed off. "Look, let's just get on topic. Who do _you_ think we should vote for."

"Easy, Jo or the little dude who's with her." Lightning explained. "They're prob'ly gonna wanna take us down for being better than them."

"Y'know, I agree with you. Even if I don't quite get your reasoning." Shawn said. "Should we take down Jo first?"

"Nah man, Jo ain't as smart as he thinks he is." Lightning stated. "He's just dumb muscle. Lightning's bet is that the tiny girl is really the brains of the operation. We gotta cut off the snake's head, y'know what I'm sayin'?"

"Are you really sure about that?" Shawn asked. "Because something tells me that you're just _a bit_ wrong."

"Bro, Lightning knows what he's doin'." Lightning insisted. "He's been on this show longer than you."

"Look, Sky and I are friendly with each other. I know she's smart, but she's not malicious." Shawn said. "Jo on the other hand, she definitely seems crafty and not in a good way."

"C'mon man, we're in an alliance. We gotta agree with these things." Lightning told him. "Look, in the end, it don't really matter 'cause we're gonna take both of 'em out soon anyway."

"All right, fine." Shawn replied. "But can we figure that out somewhere that smells less putrid?"

Lightning nodded and stood up, knocking the garbage can he was sitting on other in the process.

"Dammit!" Lightning exclaimed. "Now Lightning's gotta pick this stuff up."

He bent down to push the various discarded rappers and contains into the garbage can.

"Hang on… Lightning sees something in here." Lightning remarked looking at an odd wooden lump among the cardboard. "Looks kinda interesting."

"What do you mean?" Shawn asked.

"Dunno, Lightning's gonna check it out." Lightning replied.

Lightning picked up the wood object and got a closer look at it to see that it was a wooden bust of Chris' head.

"Dude! This is one of them invincibility statues!" Lightning cheered as he stood up. "Sha-sweet!"

"Oh… Wow, this changes a lot." Shawn remarked.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Shawn)**

"Someone as… Not smart, as Lightning having _that_ much power. It can only spell bad news." Shawn told the camera. "Look, I may be starting to warm up to him through this alliance, but that still doesn't mean I trust him completely."

* * *

The scene switched to inside the boys' trailer with Scott and Dave having a discussion.

"All right, so, now that we're at the merge, who do we vote for?" Scott asked. "I'm open to suggestions here."

"Sky." Dave bluntly told him.

"Shoulda seen that coming…" Scott muttered to himself before speaking up again. "And why is that exactly?"

"I just don't want to be reminded of all the bad things that happened." Dave explained. "And the best way to do that would be to get her off the show."

"Really, her?" Scott asked. "Voting for personal reasons usually isn't a good idea."

"Come on, please." Dave said. "I just think if I have to talk to her in another challenge it'll make me miserable."

"You need to think with your head." Scott told him. "I say, we vote for Leshawna instead. She looks like she could be a threat if we keep her around for too long."

"Look, how about we decide later." Dave suggested. "You made me leave behind a perfectly average plate of food."

"All right, fine." Scott agreed. "But I still say I was right."

"And I still say we should vote for Sky." Dave replied.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Scott)**

"Jeez, and I thought me and Courtney had a messy relationship towards the end." Scott remarked. "But Dave and his girl are on a whole 'nother level."

* * *

The scene faded ahead to later with all the contestants sitting down in front of the stage Chris was on.

"So, this is the first elimination ceremony of the merge. How does that feel?" Chris asked. "I'm sure excited."

"Well, as long as nobody can vote for me I feel fine." Dave remarked.

"Don't show off…" Jo grumbled to herself.

"Ha! You sound jealous, dude." Lightning remarked.

"Shut up. You lost too." Jo pointed out.

"Ahem, back on topic please." Chris requested. "All of your lovely people now get to vote. So please enjoy."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Harold)**

Harold held up a photograph of Scott with an X over.

"He could potentially be a dangerous contestant if left around for too long." Harold told the audience. "So, this is the best spot for me to attempt this. The numbers are against him. From my point of view at least."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Anne Maria)**

"Y'know, I ain't that sure who to vote for." Anne Maria admitted. "Jo and Lightning are for sure stronger than me, but Sky, Harold, and Shawn have me beat in the brains department. Hmm… Which do I wanna get rid of? Brains or brawn?"

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Dave)**

Dave drew an X over a picture of Sky and showed it to the camera.

"Look, Sky, we've been through a lot, and frankly, this is best for the both of us." Dave stated. "I mean, if I didn't win I _know_ you'd be voting for me."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Scott)**

Scott showed a crossed out photo of Sky to the camera.

"To be honest, this isn't my first choice." Scott admitted. "I'm just doing this to keep Dave happy. After this work this out, I can get him to vote for whoever I want."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Lightning)**

Lighting held up a picture of Sky with an X over it.

"Lightning and Shawn came to an agreement." Lightning stated. "We take out Sky now, and take out Jo next. Lightning's doin' this so he can take down Jo by himself in the next challenge. You can't gotta take down your old rivals in a special way, y'know."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Shawn)**

Shawn drew an X on a photo of Sky and showed to the camera.

"Sorry Sky, but this keeps Lightning on my side, and gets me one step closer to the money I need for my dream zombie bunker." Shawn stated.

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Sky)**

Sky crossed out a photo of Shawn and held it in view of the camera.

"Shawn, for the record Dave was my first choice." Sky said. "But this is what Jo wants and if she is right, we can still be friends after the show. Oh, and while I'm here…."

Sky grabbed the Golden Chris Statue she had previously found and put it in view.

"I also would like to vote for Shawn again and use this." Sky stated. "You never can be too careful."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Leshawna)**

Leshawna showed a photo of Scott with an X on it to the camera.

"Harold's right, you really seem like trouble." Leshawna remarked.

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Jo)**

Jo held up a drawn over picture of Shawn to the audience.

"Shawn, not gonna lie, you're a little freaky." Jo told him. "But, you're also pretty smart. Which makes you a threat to me. So, bye."

* * *

The scene faded ahead to later after to votes with Chris getting back up on stage.

"All right, I've gone over the votes and, while reviewing the footage, it looks like a certain someone wanted to use their idol." Chris informed the competitors. "Sky! Please hand over the idol so I can verify that it's real."

"Oh, sure." Sky replied as she took out the golden bust of Chris and tossed it to him.

Chris caught it and examined it closer.

"All right, everything checks out." Chris stated, handing the bust off to Chef. "Now, with Sky's extra votes in mind, Dave, Anne Maria, Harold, Leshawna, Jo, and Lightning. You're all safe right off the bat.

"Here ya go." Chef said as he threw several Gilded Chris awards to the mentioned contestants.

"All right, Scott, Sky, Shawn, I'm going to give another award away." Chris told them. "And that honour goes to…"

…

…

…

…

…

…

"… Scott! Surprisingly."

"Hey!" Scott exclaimed. "I take great offence to that."

"Ah, take your damn award." Chef replied as he threw the Gilded Chris Award.

"And we're down to the final Gilded Chris Award." Chris remarked. "Sky, Shawn, this last award goes to…"

…

…

…

…

…

"Neither of you! That's right, we've had this season's first tie!"

"Wait, what?" Shawn asked. "So how do we decide."

"I'm glad you asked…" Chris began.

"Are you gonna finish?" Sky asked.

"This is usually the part where the guy editing cuts to where I take you." Chris explained.

The camera then changed to later with the contestants and Chris arriving at a cheap looking set of a forest near the back of the film lot. The only convincing part of what was otherwise just a badly painted backdrop was the five detailed life-sized models of pine trees lined up in a perfect row.

"All right… This isn't really answering _any_ questions about the tiebreaker." Leshawna pointed out.

"Yeah, what are we supposed to do here?" Shawn added.

"Well, you two certainly remember the final three build-a-challenge thing we did in your season, right?" Chris asked. "Turns out, the producers liked the treetop race part of it so much, that we brought it back as a tiebreaker this season."

"Even the chainsaw-wielding monkeys?" Sky questioned.

" _Especially_ those." Chris replied. "We had to bring them here all the way from Pahkitew Island but it was worth it."

Shawn and Sky shared a nervous glance with each other.

"Rules are the same as last time. You have to make it to the other side, and if you touch the ground you lose." Chris explained. "Now go!"

* * *

 **(Confessional: Dave)**

"You know, after seeing that, part of me was glad I got eliminated before I had to do that challenge last time I was here." Dave told the audience.

* * *

Shawn and Sky began climbing up the first tree at the same time.

"Y'know Shawn, I didn't think there'd ever be a _second time_ we'd be involved in a tree climbing race." Sky casually remarked as she climbed.

"I didn't either." Shawn admitted. "And I'm prepared for _everything_!"

"Hey, no hard feelings if you lose, right?" Sky asked.

"Don't worry, I won't lose." Shawn replied.

"Well, neither will I." Sky told him, increasing her climbing speed.

Sky stood up on one of the branches towards the top and began moving towards the second tree.

"All right Sky. Just don't think of how high up you are or the psycho chainsaw monkeys ahead of you. You can do this." Sky motivated herself.

Sky made a jump over to the next model tree and landed on one of the extended limbs.

"Yes! I did it!" Sky cheered.

The celebration quickly stopped when Shawn landed next to her.

"You're not the only one who can jump y'know." Shawn remarked.

"Well, let's see if you can make the next one." Sky playfully told him.

The two of them began moving across the limb they were on towards the next tree.

Just then, a monkey carrying a chainsaw lowered itself down from an above branch on its prehensile trail. The primate snarled at the duo.

"Uh oh… This is bad news." Shawn remarked.

Both began to move faster towards the next branch. The monkey swung its chainsaw, severing the limb they were standing on. Sky moved to the branch ahead of her but Shawn fell. He was able to grab on to the stump of the branch he previously stood on.

"Whoa! That's a long way down!" Shawn realized, looking down.

"Sorry Shawn, but I can't help you if I wanna win." Sky told him. "Good luck though."

Sky quickly made it to the end of her branch and jumped to the third tree.

"Okay… I can do this…" Shawn told himself. "You've trained for situations far more dire than what's going on right now."

Shawn pulled himself up on to the next available branch on his tree.

"Phew! Looks like I'm back in the game!" Shawn cheered.

The monkey swung his chainsaw again causing Shawn to duck to avoid it.

"Yikes!" Shawn exclaimed. "Need to be careful."

Further ahead, Sky had progressed to the second to last tree.

"Sure hope Shawn's all right." Sky remarked looking behind her. "I did leave him with that crazy monkey… Ah, I'm sure he can handle himself."

"Hey, Sky!" Shawn called from behind Sky. "I'm not out quite yet."

"Hmm, I was right." Sky commented to himself before looking directly at Shawn. "C'mon, there's only one tree left. Let's finish this up honourably."

"You got it." Shawn replied. "May the best man win and all that."

The two of them began running down the limb of the model tree. Another monkey lowered down from above them.

"Seriously!" Shawn exclaimed. "How many of these things are out there?"

The monkey sliced the branch both competitors were standing on causing the duo to fall forwards towards the next tree.

"This is gonna hurt!" Sky shouted as she fell.

Sky slammed into a branch on the final tree and grabbed on while Shawn was less lucky, missing the tree completely and hitting the ground.

"Ow…" Shawn weakly muttered.

"Looks like Shawn touched the ground!" Chris announced. "That means he's gonna have to start over."

Sky stood up on the branch she managed to grab and looked down.

"Hey, I can see the finish line." Sky remarked. "I wonder if I can jump down from here…. I'm gonna try it."

Sky leaped down from the tree towards the finishing line.

"Wow! I think I might be able to nail the landing!" Sky cheered as she fell.

She then crashed face first into the ground.

"Never mind…" Sky mumbled quietly.

Chris walked over to where Sky crashed landed and helped her up.

"Congrats, you may have botched the landing, but you still beat Shawn to the finish." Chris informed her. "Which means you get to stay!"

Shawn approached the two of them.

"Wait, so I'm out?" Shawn asked.

"Pretty much." Chris told him. "Please escort yourself to the Lame-O-Sine. If it makes you feel better, you get to ride with Ella."

"Oh… Yay." Shawn unenthusiastically said.

The scene then changed to Shawn entering the limousine with Ella already being in the seat next to him.

" _Oh you may be the one to lose but I shall enjoy spending time with you!_ " Ella cheerily sang once Shawn entered.

"Uh huh… Thanks." Shawn replied.

"So, where would you like to go now that we're in this chariot?" Ella asked.

"Hmm… Think there are any movies playing around here?" Shawn replied.

"Ooh, I heard there's a new romantic comedy playing." Ella told him. "I simply _adore_ those."

"As long as it isn't a zombie movie, I'm fine." Shawn stated.

The camera cut to the outside of the limo as it drove away into the distance. Once the vehicle had left Chris walked over to the place it once was.

"And the first elimination of the merge has happened." Chris told the audience. "How will Lightning function without his partner? Probably worse in my opinion. But the only real way to find out is on Total. Drama. Winners!"

* * *

 **Votes:**

Anne Maria - Shawn

Dave - Sky

Harold - Scott

Jo - Shawn

Leshawna - Scott

Lightning - Sky

Scott - Sky

Shawn -Sky

Sky - Shawn (×2 From Idol)

 **Results:**

Shawn - 4 Votes

Sky - 4 Votes

Scott - 2 Votes

 **Eliminated:**

Mike, the Nice Guy (18th Place)

Max, the Super Villain (17th Place)

Lindsay, the Dumb Princess (16th Place)

Geoff, the Funnest Guy Around (15th Place)

Sugar, the Pageant Queen (14th Place)

Jasmine, the Outback Survivalist (13th Place)

Owen, the Party Animal (12th Place)

Zoey, the Indie Chick (11th Place)

Beth, the Wannabe (10th Place)

Shawn, the Conspiracy Theorist (9th Place)

* * *

 **And that was my first post-merge chapter. I sure hope you enjoyed it. Also, yes, I realize this challenge is similar to the canon challenge in "The Princess Pride". But when I was first writing it, I didn't realize until I was about halfway through and it was too late to change. Oh well, I'll try to double check if my challenge idea has already been done next time. As for Shawn's elimination, it was tough to pick the first boot of the merge when I wrote out the initial list, but in the end I decided that all the others had some sort of plot I wanted to expand on further. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. And even if you didn't, leave a review anyway. Constructive criticism is always appreciated. Thanks for reading.**


	14. E-I-E-I Oh No

**Hello everyone. Welcome back to another chapter. The challenge in this chapter is a bit different from the rest. I can't really explain it so you'll have to read the chapter to find out what I mean. Regardless, I hope you like the challenge. Anyway, before we start I'm still responding to reviews in the chapter. Please let me know if you like me doing this. Anyway, here are my responses:**

 **Nicky Haugh: Thank you.**

 **Booboojohnson1: I couldn't find the line you were referring to but that was most likely not my intent. Not that there's anything wrong with your interpretation.**

 **Sideshowjazz1: Thanks. I can't really tell you my plans for Sky because of spoilers but your review is still appreciated.**

 **That British Guy (Guest): Thank you. I enjoy writing scenes with Jo and Sky myself.**

 **Guest: Thanks and I'm glad you liked the tiebreaker.**

 **Piecesxoxo: Well, it's great that you like my story. I'm always glad when I see new reviewers too.**

 **SilentSinger948: Frist of all, thanks. Secondly, yes, Lightning's idol is the last one.**

 **JOHNHAMMOND1993 (Guest): Thank you for the suggestions for challenges again.**

 **All right, that's all the new reviews I got. Enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

"Previously, on Total Drama Winners, our first challenge of the merge sent our contestants on a hunt for a princess, AKA Ella." Footage of several contestants running up the mountain played. "Many fell to the dangers of the journey." A clip of Scott tumbling down the side of the mountain played followed by a clip of Harold being smashed into the wall by a cyclops' club. "In the end, it was the unlikely hero Dave who won invincibility." The footage changed to Dave hurriedly barging into Ella's room. "And a certain conspiracy theorist got axed over worries of becoming a threat." A clip of Shawn and Ella driving away in the limousine was shown next.

The footage changed to Chris driving around in one of the film lot's tour buses.

"The numbers of contestants are thinning; it could be anyone next." Chris continued. "The only way to find out who our next big loser is gonna be is to stick around for Total. Drama. Winners!"

* * *

 **(Theme Song)**

* * *

It was an early morning outside both of the trailers. The camera cut to the inside of the girls' cabin with all its residents still fast asleep. After only a few moments Sky began to stir in bed and eventually open her eyes.

"Ah… Good morning mildly musty trailer…" Sky sleepily murmured. "Guess I'd better do my morning stretches. I wonder if Jo would be interested."

Sky got up from her bed and strolled up to Jo in her bed.

"Psst, Jo, wake up." Sky whispered to her.

"Hmm… What… Don't wake me up mom… It's the weekend…" Jo quietly mumbled, still half asleep.

"Jo, it's me, Sky." Sky continued to whisper. "Wanna go outside and get some exercise?"

"Hmm?" Jo murmured, opening her eyes. "Yeah, sure… It's about that time anyway. Let me just get my exercise clothes on."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jo)**

"I was worried about Sky in that last tiebreaker." Jo told the audience. "She may have done the 'Right' thing by letting Shawn catch up towards the end, but it was risky. But it's the present now. And in the present, we're going to get back to dominating the competition."

* * *

Meanwhile, inside the boys' trailers, none of the competitors sleeping there had woken up yet. Lightning rolled around in his sleep for a few moments before getting up.

"Sha-dang it!" Lightning exclaimed to himself. "Lighting always wakes up before he wins the big game in his dreams."

Lightning got out of bed and looked around and saw the other boys were sleeping.

"Hmmm… Lightning's gettin' an idea…" Lightning remarked.

The jock walked over to the wall of the trailer and banged on it a few times with his fist.

"Yo! Wake up Y'all!" Lightning called to the other three residents of the trailer.

The other three boys sprung awake. Harold frantically scrambled to get out of bed and ended up landing on his face.

"Gosh…" Harold weakly mumbled.

"Oh no… I'm having that dream again…" Dave remarked to himself.

"Lightning! What the heck was that for!?" Scott yelled.

"Wake up call, yo." Lightning explained. "It's good to get up. Keeps ya energized. Sha-boom!"

Lightning flexed.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Lightning)**

"Lookin' back, getting' my team all miffed like that was prob'ly a bad idea after my only alliance dude was eliminated was a bad idea." Lightning told the camera.

* * *

The scene switched to the outside of the girls' trailer. Anne Maria and Leshawna exited the trailer together.

"Good-mornin' crappy movie studio." Anne Maria remarked before looking over at Leshawna. "Ay, Leshawna, how's my hair."

"Surprisingly, you _don't_ have bedhead." Leshawna told her.

"Just checkin'. Y'see, I almost always put on hair spray before I sleep." Anne Maria explained.

"That ain't normal. You know that." Leshawna said.

"I know it ain't normal. But if it keeps my hair in shape, I don't care." Anne Maria replied.

Leshawna looked over at the other trailer and saw the male competitors leaving.

"Well, I dunno 'bout you, but I'm gonna go talk to Harold." Leshawna told Anne Maria.

"You have fun. I'm gonna find… Something." Anne Maria replied.

Leshawna walked away from Anne Maria.

"Hmm…. What to do?" Anne Maria pondered.

Just then, Lightning walked over to her.

"Yo, hair spray girl, what's up?" Lightning greeted.

"Oh no, what is it?" Anne Maria asked.

"Wanna hang out?" Lightning questioned.

"Yeah, no thanks." Anne Maria declined. "I've got better things to do. I know your friend just got the boot, but I ain't interested in whatever you're offering."

Anne Maria walked away.

"Sha-dang." Lightning remarked. "Lightning needs to try harder."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Anne Maria)**

"Listen, I know I'm kinda alone in this game right now, but partnerin' up with Lightning ain't something I really wanted to do." Anne Maria stated.

* * *

Meanwhile, Scott and Dave were walking through the film lot together.

"I still can't believe Sky won that tiebreaker." Dave remarked.

"Look, you have got to move on from it." Scott told him. "Plus, that's still one less person eliminated who isn't us."

"Easy for you to say. You didn't have to deal with what me and Sky went through." Dave replied.

"Just don't talk to her." Scott advised Dave. "How hard could that be?"

"Well, now that there are no teams, pretty hard." Dave replied.

"Look, don't vote just because of revenge." Scott told his partner. "Use your brain."

"Well, my brain's telling me to vote Sky." Dave said. "Keep in mind, she's also a really good gymnast."

"Look, we'll talk about this later." Scott responded. "Right now, let's just enjoy the fresh air."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Scott)**

"There are certain advantages and disadvantages to having Dave on my side." Scott remarked. "On one hand, he won't put up much of a fight if I boss him around. On the other hand, he's pretty meek and not all that great in challenges most of the time. Plus, I don't get his feud with that ex-girlfriend of his."

* * *

The camera cut to a close shot of the film lot's loud speakers.

"Hello world!" Chris announced through the speaker system. "Today, we're meeting some place different. Because… Reasons. Look, just meet me and Chef over by the entrance to the film lot. We'll explain when you get there."

The scene changed to the eight contestants arriving at the gate to the film lot where Chris and Chef were standing in front of a tour bus.

"What's going on here exactly?" Harold asked.

"You're going on a trip today!" Chris announced.

"Okay…. Why?" Jo asked.

"That is a great question." Chris replied. "A question that will be answered once we get on the road. C'mon, everyone get in."

The contestants shared confused looks before boarding the bus and sitting down. Chris and Chef entered the bus with the latter sitting in the driving seat and the former standing up at the front of the bus.

"All right y'all, keep the chatter quiet." Chef told his passengers. "We're gonna be here a while."

Chef began driving the bus out of the film lot and down the road away from the city.

"All right, I'm confused. What's going on?" Sky asked.

"Yeah, where's all that weird computer junk?" Anne Maria added.

"Glad you asked. Now that we're on the road I'm able to explain what the situation is." Chris replied. "Last night, a few interns had a party in the room with all the virtual reality stuff in it. Not only did they break some of the machinery by accident but they didn't even invite me."

"That's 'cause they hate you." Chef pointed out.

"Eyes on the road, Chef." Chris told his co-host before turning back to the contestants. "Anyway, we're heading out to a backup challenge while we get the usual machinery repaired."

"How far away is this place?" Leshawna asked.

"Dunno, can't be that far out though." Chris replied.

The scene faded ahead to later with the bus parking in front of a run down farm house. The contestants the two hosts exited the bus.

"Man, that took _way_ too long." Jo commented.

"Maybe if y'all didn't keep taking bathroom breaks we'd be here earlier." Chef replied.

"So where are we now?" Lightning asked.

"Hey, this looks kinda like my family's farm." Scott remarked.

"The nice lady who owns this place is letting us host the challenge today." Chris explained.

Just then the door to the farmhouse burst open and a frizzy haired woman in faded jeans and a blue checkered shirt carrying a rifle ran out to the porch.

"Wh-who's there?!" The woman exclaimed, pointing her gun at the contestants. "I won't hesitate to shoot all of y'all. I mean it, if you ain't off my property in five seconds you're getting blown away!"

"Hey, hey, relax." Chris tried to calm down the farmer. "We're with that reality show, remember? You must be Ms. Gingersnaps."

"It's Buttersnaps." The farmer stated, putting down her gun.

"Oh yeah… Like _either_ of those name's _isn't_ ridiculous…" Jo quietly muttered to herself.

"Okay, I'm still confused, what's happening?" Dave asked.

"We are going to be having a farming based challenge. Whoever completes the most farm work wins." Chris explained. "We'll be pairing you off into duos where each duo will have to complete a certain task. The winning duo gets invincibility for both parties."

"And what movie is this supposed to be based on?" Leshawna asked.

"Uh… Of Mice and Men." Chris answered. "That's got farming in it, right?"

"It also has a mentally challenged guy getting shot at the end." Chef pointed out.

"Well, hopefully that part doesn't happen." Chris replied.

"Wait, isn't that a book and not a movie?" Scott asked.

"I'm pretty sure it's also a movie." Chris stated.

"I feel like Charlotte's Web or Babe would've worked better." Sky remarked.

"Look, it's Of Mice and Men because I say so." Chris told the teams. "Now let me get back to explaining. Here are the duos for this challenge: Harold and Leshawna, Jo and Dave, Scott and Sky, and Anne Maria and Lightning."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sky)**

"On one hand, I was gald Chris didn't pair me and Dave up." Sky said. "On the other hand, I had to deal with Scott."

* * *

"All right, that's everything you need to know about this challenge." Chris told the competitors before turning to the farmer. "Ms. Buttercup, please lead us to the first task."

"Buttersnaps." Ms. Buttersnaps corrected.

"Whatever." Chris replied. "Just follow her."

The camera cut to the four duos situated by four cows inside a barn with Chris, Chef, and Ms. Buttersnaps standing nearby. By each cow was a small footstool.

"Your first challenge will be to milk a cow." Chris explained. "The first twosome to get a full bucket of milk gets four points, second one gets three points and so on."

"You want us to milk a cow?" Lightning asked. "That don't sound too hard."

"Believe me, it is." Ms. Buttersnaps told him. "Dang ol' things don't like strangers touching them. And I've never seen a stranger bunch than you fellows."

"Anyway, you all have fun." Chris told the competitors. "Let's get started!"

"Heh, this is gonna be fun to watch." Chef remarked to himself.

The camera focused itself on Jo and Dave.

"All right, I hold the cow in place, you milk it." Jo instructed Dave.

"Really? You're giving yourself the easy job?" Dave asked.

"You really think you can keep this cow from kicking around?" Jo replied.

"Fine, I'll milk it." Dave agreed. "But you're doing the hard part of the next challenge."

Dave sat down on the footstool near the cow.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jo)**

"Jeez, I wonder how Scott puts up with that guy." Jo remarked.

* * *

The camera moved over to Harold and Leshawna.

"Stand back, I've taken a course in cow milking." Harold told Leshawna.

"Why?" Leshawna asked.

"I've taken it upon myself a learn many skills." Harold explained. "You never know when something might come in handy. Now, I'll do the milking and you make sure this cow doesn't go berserk."

"Hmm, sounds easy enough." Leshawna replied.

The camera then panned to Lightning and Anne Maria.

"Stand back girl, Lightning'll handle this cow." Lightning proclaimed as he sat down at the stool by the cow.

"And what am I s'posed to do exactly?" Anne Maria asked.

"Make sure Lightning doesn't get mad cow disease." Lightning stated.

"I'm in for a long day…" Anne Maria whispered to herself.

The camera moved over to final duo of Sky and Scott.

"So… You're the farmer, you wanna do the milking part?" Sky asked.

"Why not." Scott replied. "I think I tried this once at my grandpappy's old place. It can't be that hard. You make sure this cow doesn't squirm or anything."

"Sure, it can't be that hard." Sky replied.

The camera cut back to Dave milking his cow with Jo standing behind it.

"Jo, are you actually doing anything?" Dave asked. "Because it looks like you're just standing around doing nothing."

"I'm making sure your head doesn't get kicked in by an angry cow." Jo replied.

"It sure doesn't look like it." Dave remarked.

"Well, has your head been kicked in?" Jo asked.

"Uh, no." Dave replied.

"Then I'm doing my job right." Jo stated.

"Ha, ha, very funny." Dave responded, sounding unamused. "Look, just please do the dirty work in this next challenge. Something tells me this cow hasn't been washed in a while."

"Hey! Don't insult my cows!" Ms. Buttersnaps yelled over to him.

"S-sorry ma'am." Dave nervously apologized.

"Well, on the bright side it looks like you've filled at least a quarter of the bucket." Jo observed, looking at Dave's bucket.

"Oh, thanks." Dave replied.

"Work faster though." Jo instructed. "Scott's got a farming background so something tells me he's gonna finish before us if we don't hurry."

Back over with Harold and Leshawna, the former was hard at work milking while the latter watched, looking bored.

"Harold, I feel like I ain't really contributing." Leshawna remarked.

"Actually, you're supposed to keep me from succumbing to any cow related mishaps." Harold stated.

"Harold, cows aren't that dangerous, you realize that." Leshawna told him. "What could a big bulky thing like that possibly do."

"You'd be surprised." Harold replied as he continued to milk the cow. "You're more likely to be killed by a cow than a shark."

"Yeah, but more people are around cows on a regular basis than they are sharks." Leshawna pointed out.

"We can discuss this later." Harold told her. "Right now I need to focus on milking."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Leshawna)**

"Y'know, I never think all these weird things Harold's apparently trained for come in handy but they always do." Leshawna said. "What're the chances of that?"

* * *

Over with Anne Maria and Lightning, Anne Maria leaned on the wall of the barn watching Lightning milk the cow as fast as he could.

"Uh… Lightning, don'cha think you're bein' a bit violent to that cow?" Anne Maria asked.

"Nah, it's fine." Lightning brushed her concerns off. "The faster Lightning goes, the more milk he gets."

"All right, but you're realling tickin' off that cow." Anne Maria told him. "I'm just sayin' if that cow tries to kill you, you'll have yourself to blame."

"Duh, Lightning knows that, girl. But you ain't gonna let that happen, right?" Lightning asked. "You're s'posed to be guarding Lightning."

"Oh, yeah, sure, whatever." Anne Maria uncaringly replied. "I'll try to keep this cow calm while you're violently squeezin' it and stuff."

"Sha-thanks." Lightning replied.

"I wasn't bein' seri- Oh, whatever, might as well try it." Anne Maria said.

Anne Maria looked directly at the cow.

"Um, hey ya miss, ignore the crazy guy down there." Anne Maria told the cow. "You must have a nice life. 'Cept for the milkin' part. That's gotta be weird."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Anne Maria)**

"Well, I sure didn't think I'd be talkin' to a cow today when I woke up this morning." Anne Maria remarked. "Life throws you a curveball like that sometimes."

* * *

Over with Sky and Scott, the latter seemed to be milking the cow very slowly.

"Scott, why are you going so slow?" Sky asked. "You've done farm work, you should be doing this faster."

"Didn't you ever read the Turtle and the Bunny?" Scott asked. "Slow and steady wins the race."

"It's the Tortoise and the Hare." Sky corrected.

"Look, the point is, this is how you're _supposed_ to do this." Scott explained. "'Least that's what my grandpappy told me. If you spook the cow, you won't get as much milk."

"Well, if you're sure you know what you're doing." Sky replied.

"'Course I do, look at this stuff." Scott told Sky, gesturing to the nearly halfway full bucket of milk. "Now make sure this cow doesn't try to trample me for no reason."

"I dunno, this cow looks pretty docile." Sky observed.

"Yeah, that's what they want you to think." Scott stated. "They'll get you when you're least expecting it."

"Right… Sure." Sky replied sounding unconvinced.

"I'm serious." Scott told her. "Now stop talking so I can focus on the milking."

Back by Anne Maria and Lightning, the former was still engaged in conversation with a cow.

"Y'know somethin', cow, you ain't very good company." Anne Maria told the cow. "No offence, but ya can't really talk back."

"Sha-done!" Lightning cheered, taking his now full bucket of milk out from under the cow. "We did it, hair girl!"

Lightning's sudden shouting startled the cow and it headbutted Anne Maria.

"Seriously…. Now you get upset…" Anne Maria weakly commented.

"'Least we finished first." Lightning remarked.

"Indeed you did!" Chris announced. "But, only one of these competitors can get the slightly worse second place spot!"

The camera panned over to Harold hard at work with Leshawna still watching.

"You know Leshawna, I'd really appreciate it if you did some more to help." Harold told her.

"I'm not really sure what to do." Leshawna admitted. "You look like you've got everything under control."

"I do, but I would like some back up just in case." Harold stated. "I don't know how much longer this will take."

"Actually, it looks like you're finished." Leshawna noticed, pointing to the now full bucket of milk.

"What?" Harold asked, looking back at the bucket. "Hey, you're right."

"Yo, Chris! We're done!" Leshawna called over to the host.

"Then it looks like only two more places are left!" Chris announced.

The camera cut to Dave and Jo by their cow.

"C'mon Dave, you've gotta hurry up." Jo ordered her partner.

"I'm trying. This is harder than it looks." Dave replied. "Maybe you should take over?"

"Switching would take up too much valuable time." Jo stated. "Now hurry up."

"And it looks like Scott and Sky take the second place spot!" Chris announced.

"What?!" Both Jo and Dave exclaimed.

They looked over and saw that Scott had filled his bucket of milk up completely.

"Dammit!" Jo shouted in anger.

"And it also looks like Jo and Dave are in last." Chris remarked. "Ms. Buttermilk, show us the next task."

"It's _Buttersnaps_." Ms. Buttersnaps corrected. "Also, follow me this way."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Dave)**

"Okay, that was a bad start." Dave admitted. "But I told myself it could've only gotten better from there."

* * *

The contestants are now standing right outside a cornfield.

"All right, for this challenge you must pick as many ears of corn as you can in one minute." Chris explained.

Chef passed out wicker baskets to each duo.

"Whoever has the most corn by the end of the minute, wins this round with four points. Whoever gets the second most gets three points, and you know the drill from there." Chris continued. "Oh, and if you drop any corn it falls out of the basket, you are _not_ allowed to pick it back up. Just to make it more interesting."

"You'd better not drop it. That stuff's the best corn in the whole darn province." Ms. Buttersnaps told the contestants.

"All right…. Go!" Chris announced to the duos.

The competitors ran into the cornfield.

"Those kids had better not mess up anything." Ms. Buttersnaps remarked. "If they do, _you're_ payin' for it, McLean."

"Heh, duly noted." Chris replied.

Meanwhile out in the field, Lightning was picking corn and tossing it into the basket Anne Mari was holding.

"Sha-wham!" Lightning cheered as he threw an ear of corn into Anne Maria's basket.

"Ay, take it easy." Anne Maria advised Lightning. "You need to be careful. I can only do this so fast."

"Psht, we're doin' great." Lightning replied.

"Oh really… What about those?" Anne Maria asked, pointing to several ears of corn that had fallen by her feet.

"Ah, that's only a few." Lightning told her. "Now stop complainin', we've got work to do."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Anne Maria)**

"Y'know, I probably shoulda argued with Lightning more in that part of the challenge." Anne Maria reflected. "But, after we somehow won that milking challenge, I thought he knew what he was doing."

* * *

Somewhere else in the cornfield, Jo was hard at work picking corn while Dave caught it in his basket.

"Y'know, I think we'll do better this time." Dave told Jo.

"We'd better." Jo replied.

"Well, uh, maybe _you_ should be faster since you're the one picking the corn." Dave suggested.

"Hey, don't tell- Actually, that's a good idea." Jo admitted. "All right, I'll pick up the pace. But you try not to drop any."

"Great, we've got this one." Dave said.

Jo picked two ears of corn off the stalk at once and tossed them over to Dave. He moved back slightly but was able to catch them.

"Whoa, a little less force there." Dave advised her. "I almost dropped those."

"What did I just say about not dropping any?" Jo asked.

"Sorry, okay." Dave replied. "Let's just keep going."

Elsewhere in the cornfield, Sky picked corn and threw each ear into Scott's basket.

"So… Have any small talk?" Scott asked. "It's kinda boring out here."

"Sure, we can talk." Sky replied. "Uh…. What's Dave like?

"Dave? Why are you asking me?" Scott asked.

"You know why. I've seen you two spending a lot of time together." Sky said. "So, what do you think of him?"

"Eh, he's an all right guy." Scott replied. "Can't see us keeping in touch after the show though. What about you? I'm assuming you still kinda hate him after whatever the heck happened last time."

"Yeah, yeah, I don't really like him. But I'm pretty sure he doesn't like me either so it balances out." Sky said as she threw an ear of corn into the basket.

"It's probably for the better." Scott remarked. "If what little I know about your relationship is anything to go buy, trying to patch things up would be really hard."

"Wait, what has he told you?" Sky asked. "Whatever it is it's probably a lie to make me look bad."

"Relax, usually I tune him out when I'm bored. If he's told me anything _that_ incriminating about you, I've probably forgotten it by now." Scott replied as he caught another piece of corn.

"Oh, that sure is a relief." Sky remarked. "Y'know, we make a surprisingly good team."

"Yeah, I wonder if that means Jo and Dave are getting along." Scott said before pausing for a few seconds. "Nah, I doubt it."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sky)**

"I really would've thought me and Scott would spend more time arguing." Sky commented. "I don't know if that fact that we didn't should have me _scared_ or relieved."

* * *

Meanwhile, Leshawna was picking corn and handing it off to Harold in another part of the field.

"Man, it is _hot_ out today." Leshawna remarked. "I think I've gotten so used to those virtual challenges it's makin' me soft."

"Would you like me to take over?" Harold offered as he grabbed a piece of corn from Leshawna.

"Nah, I got this." Leshawna replied. "Lemme do this for 'bout another minute. Then we can trade places."

"I'm okay with that." Harold told her.

The two of them continued picking corn for a few more moments.

"Y'know, I'm startin' to realize how boring this challenge is." Leshawna remarked. "Wanna talk about anything?"

"Sure, uh, there's actually one thing I really wanna know." Harold said. "I know it's geting kinda creepy, but with how much more time we've been spending together recently…. Are you sure we don't have another chance?"

"Look, Harold… I get it, you're a great guy." Leshawna told him. "And fine, I still kinda like you."

"Really?" Harold asked. "Gosh, this is great."

"Hold on, I wasn't finished." Leshawna continued. "I still kinda like you, but after how it ended last time. I just don't know if it'll work out."

"So you're saying there's still a chance?" Harold said.

"I guess so." Leshawna admitted. "Look, can we talk about this stuff after the show?"

"Sure, sure, that'd be best." Harold remarked.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Leshawna)**

"It was nice to get that off my chest." Leshawna told the audience. "And yeah, maybe me and Harold can hook up once the show's over."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Harold)**

"Gosh, it's great to hear what Leshawna really thinks about me." Harold remarked. "It's also great not to feel creepy about my feelings towards her."

* * *

The scene switched back to Chris, Chef, and Ms. Buttersnaps outside the cornfield.

"All right, it's been one minute now." Chef told his co-host.

"Good to know." Chris replied. "Chef, my megaphone."

Chef hands Chris a megaphone.

"Attention everyone!" Chris shouted into the megaphone pointed at the cornfield. "Your time is up! Cease picking your corn and come out here!"

After a few moments all the duos exited the cornfield with their baskets.

"Okay, let's see what you've all got." Chris said, looking over the contestants and their baskets. "Hmm… Not so much on that one."

Chris pointed at Anne Maria and Lightning's barely filled basket.

"If _someone_ had better aim we'd have done better." Anne Maria stated.

"Huh? Who're you talkin' 'bout?" Lightning asked.

"Anyway, you guys get last place." Chris told them before looking at Jo and Dave's basket. "Hmm… Respectable… I'd say that's worth… Three points."

"Well, we could've done worse." Jo remarked. "I'll take it."

"Hmm… Pretty decent." Chris remarked, looking at Leshawna and Harold's basket. "Two points."

"Gosh, we probably should've talked less." Harold commented.

"And I guess that means Sky and Scott get first place with four points." Chris said looking over at their basket. "All right, the score is now four for Jo and Dave, five for Leshawna and Harold five for Anne Maria and Lighting as well and six for Scott and Sky. All right, now, Ms. Butterfly will show us to the next location."

"Y'know, I'm even gonna bother correctin' you at this point." Ms. Buttersnaps remarked. "C'mon, follow me."

The scene switched to the competitors, Ms. Buttersnaps, Chef, and Chris arriving out by several plastic sacks marked "Seed" out in the middle of a field.

"So what are we supposed to do here?" Scott asked.

"See all these sacks?" Chris asked. "Ms. Butternut here left them out in the field for some reason. Each of you will have to take a sack out to the barn. The first duo to make it back with both sacks of seed gets four points, second gets three, and so on and so forth."

"That don't sound too hard." Lightning remarked.

"Trust me, these things are heavy." Ms. Buttersnaps told the contestants. "I should know, I'm the one who had to put these things out here."

"Anyway, you all should best get running." Chris stated. "Ready…. Set… Grab your bags and run!"

All of the contestants grabbed a bag of seed from the pile and began running across the field towards the barn.

"Hmm, at least one of 'em's gonna collapse at the halfway point." Chef predicted. "Mark my words."

Meanwhile, Sky and Scott were running in the front of the race carrying their sacks.

"Hey! This isn't so bad." Sky remarked as she ran. "I'm starting to ache just a little but it could be worse."

"Yeah, I'm doin' all right too." Scott admitted. "I'm used to haulin' sacks of dirta round my old farm though so this isn't too much of a change."

"You think maybe should slow down?" Sky wondered. "Conserve energy and all that."

"Yeah, why not." Scott agreed. "Don't wanna tire ourselves out too fast."

Scott and Sky slowed down their running speed.

"Ah, I'm already feeling better." Sky remarked.

Suddenly, Lightning zoomed past them with Anne Maria following closely behind.

"Dammit!" Scott exclaimed in anger. "Okay, new plan, speed up!"

* * *

 **(Confessional: Scott)**

"Y'know, I don't really get what Dave doesn't like about Sky." Scott remarked. "I wouldn't wanna hang around her on a regular basis but she seems all right. Those two must have messed up their relationship _pretty bad_."

* * *

The scene switched focus to Anne Maria and Lightning running across the field.

"Sha-go! We're gonna do this!" Lightning cheered.

"L-Lightning… Can'cha slow down?" Anne Maria asked. "My legs feel like they're 'bout to fall off…"

"That's a good thing, yo." Lightning told her. "That means you're burnin' calories."

"I don't think that's right…" Anne Maria panted. "Man… This is some heavy seed…."

"You need to build muscle, girl." Lightning stated as he ran.

"How is none of this effecting you?" Anne Maria asked.

"Lightning just told ya." Lighting replied. "He's strong!"

* * *

 **(Confessional: Anne Maria)**

"On one hand, I nearly puked _several_ times. On the other hand, I was able to keep a good lead with Lightning most of the time." Anne Maria remarked. "I'd hate to be in the back after our last lost, lemme tell ya."

* * *

Meanwhile, far back away from the other contestants, Jo was running with the bag of seed in her arms and Dave straggling behind her.

"C'mon! Hurry!" Jo ordered Dave. "I'd be running faster if you weren't so slow!"

"My arms are like pencils, okay! This is hard enough with out having to carry this sack!" Dave shouted.

"Quit whining and keep going. It's getting us nowhere." Jo told him. "I'm really starting to get why Sky doesn't like you."

"W-will you shut up!" Dave snapped, causing both of them to stop in their tracks. "You have been bossing me around this whole challenge and I won't stand for it anymore! L-look, I don't like raising my voice like this but I am just so sick of having to deal with you! I don't get why Sky sees you as a friend, but whatever it is, it can't be worth it! Pushing me around doesn't make you strong, it makes you a bully."

"I… Uh… Sh-shut up!" Jo told him. "Nobody talks to me like that."

"J-just show a little respect. Maybe it's the heat getting to me, but I don't care." Dave said. "I'm sick of your attitude! And I've only had to talk to you for one challenge. I can't even imagine how your old team feels."

"All right, sorry! Is that what you wanted to hear?" Jo half-heartedly apologized. "Look, you can go at your own pace, let's just keep going and _maybe_ we can beat Harold and Leshawna."

"Fine." Dave replied. "Let's go."

The two of them began running again.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Dave)**

"Getting angry can feel surprisingly good." Dave remarked. "Hmm… I wonder if I can get Scott to be nicer to me too. He can be a bit aggressive… I think I'll try it."

* * *

Meanwhile, slightly further ahead, Leshawna and Harold were running together.

"Aw man… I'm feelin' burned out…" Leshawna remarked, sounding out of breath.

"Agreed..." Harold said, sounding equally tired. "We seem to have exerted most of our energy at the beginning…. Neither of us being athletic does not help either."

"Still haven't seen Jo run past us though." Leshawna commented. "Didn't think I'd see that."

"She does seem more likely to be at an advantage in this race." Harold agreed. "Wonder what's stopping her."

"Hey, let's not stop to wonder." Leshawna told him as she continued her attempt at running. "I wanna score those last two points."

"Great idea." Harold agreed. "I'm actually starting to feel re-energized. Let's go!"

Harold picked up his running pace.

"Hey, wait for me." Leshawna told him as she sped up. "This bag is heavy."

Elsewhere, over by the barn, Chris, Chef, and Ms. Buttersnaps were waiting for the contestants.

"Hmm… Sure hope they get here soon." Chef remarked. "It's pretty boring out here."

"Wanna do something to pass the time?" Chris asked. "How about I spy?"

"Definitely not." Chef shot the idea down. "We ain't seven and on a road trip."

"Plus it's mostly just field out here right now." Ms. Buttersnaps added. "Ain't much to spy."

"Hold up, I think I see one of the groups coming." Chef commented.

Lightning and Anne Maria ran up to the hosts and dumped their bags on the ground.

"Man… That felt like some kinda medieval torture…" Anne Maria panted. "What's wrong with you guys?"

"Lightning didn't mind it." Lightning stated.

"Wait… How'd you guys make it here before the rest of us?" Anne Maria asked, still out of breath.

"Tractor." Ms. Buttersnaps plainly stated.

"You know, I did not expect you guys to make first place." Chris remarked. "But life's full of surprises. I wonder who's next?"

"I think I see 'em." Chef remarked, pointing to two approaching figures in the distance.

Sky and Scott ran over to the hosts and placed down their sacks of seed with the other two.

"Y'know you could at least _try_ to be careful. Ms. Buttersnaps remarked.

"Did we… Did we make it…" Scott asked, sounding out of breath. "I can't feel any of my limbs right now…"

"You made second place." Chris told them.

"Good enough…" Sky wearily remarked.

"Hmm, so, which of our last two duos is going to make it next?" Chris wondered.

"I think we're gonna find out pretty soon." Chef remarked, pointing to another pair of figures approaching.

Harold and Leshawna ran up to the rest and placed down their bags.

"Done…" Leshawna panted. "Let's never do that again…"

"And that gives you two third place!" Chris announced. "May not be great, but at least you don't get Jo and Dave's place. Speaking of which, here they come now."

Dave and Jo ran up to the others and placed their sacks down with the rest.

"So, tell me, how do you two feel in last place?" Chris asked.

"No comment." Jo replied.

"Fair enough." Chris commented. "Just as a reminder our scores are now Jo and Dave five, Harold and Leshawna six, Lightning and Anne Maria nine, and Scott and Sky also nine. Anyway, let's move on. Ms. Butterscotch, where to next?"

"If you follow me, I'll show ya." Ms. Buttersnaps replied.

The scene changed over to the contestants arriving back at the barn where a table with a cloth covering it was scene. There were some very obvious large lumps under the cloth.

"Oh boy… I'm already dreading what's under there." Sky remarked.

"Don't worry, there's nothing hiding under there that wants to rip your face off." Chris told them. "And that's not sarcasm."

"So what really is in there?" Harold asked.

Chef pulled the sheet away to reveal four large buckets full of seeds.

"Those seeds you just lugged across the field!" Chris announced.

"Okay… But why?" Anne Maria asked.

"Well, you see in each of those bags was a medal with the face of, you guessed it, me, on it." Chris began explaining. "So, each duo must sift through there and find both medals. Oh, and if you spill any seeds by accident, you're disqualified. Just to make things extra hard."

"Man, this sure sounds like fun." Chef sarcastically remarked.

The four duos took their positions in front of the large buckets.

"Remember, _both_ medals have to be found in order for you to win." Chris reminded them. "And no spillage. Now go!"

The contestants all began feeling through the seeds.

The camera focused on Lightning violently jossling his hand around in the bucket nearly spilling seeds over the edge.

"Uh… Lightning… Might wanna be a bit _gentler_." Anne Maria advised him.

"Sha-nah, Lightning knows exactly what he's doing." Lightning stated.

"You are dangerously close to tippin' our bucket, pal." Anne Maria pointed out.

"Hmm…. Damn, you're right." Lightning realized, stopping his movement. "Thanks, girl. Lightning'll try to be more careful."

Lightning began carefully feeling around in the bucket again.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Lightning)**

"Pretty sure Lightning and Anne Maria are the only people right now who aren't in an alliance." Lightning commented. "Crazy as it sounds, Lightning actually thinks we might work good together.

* * *

The scene shifted to Jo and Dave feeling around in their basket together.

"All right… Let's try to keep things level headed and not argue." Jo told Dave, attempting to sound calm.

"Agreed." Dave replied in the same tone of voice.

The duo kept feeling around for a few more moments in silence.

"Hey, I think I feel something." Dave commented.

"That's my hand." Jo flatly stated.

"Oh, that's why it felt so weird." Dave remarked.

"Just keep feeling." Jo told him.

The camera panned to Leshawna and Harold rummaging through their bucket.

"Feel anything yet?" Harold asked.

"Comin' up blank here." Leshawna replied. "Hang on… Hang on… Hey! I've got something!"

Leshawna pulled her hand up from the seed with one of the medals in her hand.

"Gosh, you actually did it." Harold remarked. "Great work."

"All right, looks like we've got a good shot at making first place." Leshawna said. "Not too shabby."

The camera panned over to Scott and Sky feeling through their bucket.

"So… Anything going on?" Sky asked as she rummaged through the bucket. "I'll be honest, I'm kinda bored right now."

"Yeah, I really expected us to fight more." Scott admitted. "Of course, that isn't exactly a bad thing. The closer I- Uh, we, are to immunity, the better."

"True." Sky remarked. "But… I still wish we had something to talk about."

"Same here." Scott confessed. "Uh… What kind of seed do you think this is?"

"I dunno, aren't you the farmer?" Sky asked.

"Yeah, but I still can't recognize it." Scott said. "Hey, think we should work faster?"

"Nah, only one person's found a medal." Sky pointed out.

"Sha-sweet! Lightning found the thing!" Lightning cheered from out of their view.

"Never mind, faster." Sky told Scott.

The scene switched back over to Harold and Leshawna with their medal from before next to them.

"Sure hope those two don't find their second medal before us." Harold commented, looking over at Lightning and Anne Maria.

"I don't think we have to worry 'bout them." Leshawna stated. "They don't really look all that bright."

"So, Leshawna, wanna talk about anything while we're working?" Harold asked. "Maybe… Our relationship."

"Let's wait 'til after the challenge how 'bout." Leshawna suggested. "This kind seems to require a lotta focus."

"All right, I'm sorry." Harold apologized. "It's just nice to know you like me back."

"Focus." Leshawna reminded him.

"Right, right, sorry." Harold apologized again.

The two of them returned to silence for a bit more.

"Hmm… I think I feel something." Harold remarked as he reached his hand deeper down into the seed bucket.

"Careful." Leshawna warned him, noticing the rising levels of seeds. "Looks like we're about to spill."

"Hold on, I think I can just about reach it." Harold told her.

Harold reached down further into the bucket.

"I got it!" Harold cheered.

"Great, now bring it out." Leshawna cautiously advised him.

Harold quickly pulled his hand out of the bucket with the medal in hand. However, in the process the bucket was knocked over, spilling the various seeds all over the floor.

"No!" Both Harold and Leshawna exclaimed.

"Uh oh, looks like you two are out of the game." Chris remarked.

"Wait a minute, I pulled out the medal." Harold pointed out.

"That is true." Chris admitted. "But your bucket still spilled. So going by my rules, it's a loss. Last place for both of you."

"I'mma spend some time outside." Leshawna stated.

"That's probably for the best…." Harold sheepishly remarked.

The camera panned over to Anne Maria and Lightning digging through their bucket.

"Yeesh, bummer what happened to them." Anne Maria remarked, looking over at Leshawna and Harold's now tipped bucket. "Hmm, 'least it's them and not us."

"Yo, keep a-searchin' girl." Lightning reminded her. "Lightning's keepin' his arm calm like you suggested."

"Right, right, I know." Anne Maria replied. "I just don't feel like we're findin' any-"

There was a pause as the Jersey girl suddenly stopped.

"Somethin' wrong?" Lightning asked.

"I think I've actually got it!" Anne Maria cheered.

Anne Maria carefully pulled the medal out of her bucket.

"First place!" Anne Maria exclaimed. "Try to top that!"

"Woohoo!" She heard Dave cheer from out of camera view.

"Well, that sure was quick." Anne Maria remarked.

The camera cut to Dave with a medal in his hand by Jo.

"I'm impressed." Jo remarked.

"The best part is I think I felt my knuckle brush against the other one on the way up." Dave told Jo.

"Well, make your move on it then." Jo ordered him.

Dave reached back into the bucket.

"Hey, I think I grabbed it already!" Dave cheered.

"That's my hand again." Jo told him.

"Oh, whoops." Dave remarked before rummaging through the bucket again. "Okay, now I've got it!"

Dave carefully took the medal out from the bucket.

"Done!" Dave cheered.

"And it looks like Dave and Jo get the less-great-but-not-awful, second place." Chris remarked. "Which also makes Sky and Scott third place by default."

"Ah, default, the two sweetest words in the English language." Scott commented.

"That's two words." Sky pointed out.

Scott grunted in annoyance.

"Close enough…" Scott mumbled.

"Anyway, let's tally up these new points, shall we." Chris told the contestants. "In last place we have Harold and Leshawna with seven, followed by Jo and Dave with eight. After that, it's Sky and Scott with eleven and in first place we have Lightning and Anne Maria with thirteen."

"Sha-score!" Lightning cheered. "Lightning's a winner!"

"Ahem, me too." Anne Maria pointed out.

"Yes indeed. You two have the honour of not being on the proverbial elimination menu tonight." Chris told them. "As for everyone else out here… Well, you'll have plenty of time to think about who you wanna vote off on the bus ride back."

"Oh joy…" Jo sarcastically replied.

"Anyway, let's all bid our nice host Ms. Butterball a goodbye." Chris continued.

"If I say any of y'all on my property again I will not hesitate to chase ya off." Ms. Buttersnaps stated. "Ugh, this is the last time I trust a TV producer."

"Maybe nice is a bit of a stretch." Chris whispered to Chef.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sky)**

"You know, after doing challenges inside computers all season, I actually found doing this to be really, refreshing." Sky remarked. "I kinda hope the interns accidentally break the machines more often."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Scott)**

"Jeez, first Dave wins the last challenge and now these two." Scott remarked. "Is the whole world just upside down?"

* * *

The scene changed to the inside of the studio tour bus on the road with Chef driving and the host and contestants sitting in back.

The camera itself focused on Sky and Jo sitting together.

"So, how'd things go for you and Scott?" Jo asked. "Must've gone better than for me and Dave."

"Yeah, we did surprisingly not terrible." Sky admitted. "We weren't great but we never had any crazy fits of anger."

"Hmmph, lucky." Jo remarked. "Dave blew up at me when we were carrying those bags. To be fair I probably pushed the guy too hard. He doesn't seem very… Good at much. I can see why you don't like him."

"Yeah, he can be a bit hard to work with." Sky commented. "I'll bet you anything that he's gonna shower at least three times once we get back to the film lot. He _hates_ germs."

"Think we could vote him off?" Jo wondered.

"Well, we can always try." Sky replied.

"So yes?" Jo asked.

"Why not." Sky said. "That'll be one less thing for me to worry about."

The camera panned back further in the bus to where Lightning and Anne Maria were seated.

"So, we did _pretty good_ today if I do say so myself." Anne Maria remarked.

"Yeah, sha-totally." Lightning remarked. "Woo!"

"All right, cool your jets. Let's not get too excited." Anne Maria told him. "We mostly just got lucky."

"Psht, it was mostly skill." Lightning stated.

"Uh huh… Right." Anne Maria remarked. "Y'know, I was thinkin' we did pretty good together in this challenge. Maybe we should make this a full time deal. Whadda ya say?"

"Hmm…. Yknow, Lightning likes the way you think, hair girl." Lightning replied. "We could totally do this. And as bonus…"

Lightning leaned closer to Anne Maria.

"Lightning's got the statue thingy…" Lightning whispered to her.

"You do, eh." Anne Maria remarked. "Wow, this sure makes us powerful, huh."

"You bet'cha." Lightning told her. "Woo! We're awesome!"

"Seriously, lower your energy." Anne Maria advised him.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Lightning)**

"This alliance with Annie is a good thing." Lightning told the audience. "Just goes to show that even without Shawn, nothing can stop Lightning from striking."

* * *

The scene moved over to Scott and Dave over in the back of the bus.

"Well… I think I can say this was mostly a disaster." Dave remarked.

"Hmm, tough luck. I had a pretty average time." Scott told his partner.

"Lucky…" Dave mumbled.

"Hey, let's head to the back. I wanna discuss some stuff more privately." Scott said.

"We're already in the back." Dave pointed out.

"Further back." Scott told him. "Like, the restroom."

"Really?" Dave asked, sounding annoyed. "Okay, fine. Just don't make it weird."

The camera cut to Scott and Dave entering the somewhat cramped restroom together.

"All right, tell me what you wanted to say." Dave said. "The sooner I get out of this place the better."

"Right, so, I want to discuss the votes." Scott explained. "I'm thinking we go after Leshawna. She hasn't seemed like much of a threat his whole game. So, I say we get rid of her before she becomes too close to winning for her own good."

"I'm not so sure. You've been making quite a lot of decisions in this alliance and I think I should take charge for a change." Dave proclaimed.

"No dice there, pal." Scott replied. "We tried to vote of Sky last time."

"You know, you're being a bit bossy right now." Dave told him. "And tonight, I wanna do things my way. And for the record, I wasn't even planning on voting out Sky."

"Jeez, what's gotten into you?" Scott asked. "You're usually so complacent. Um, no offence."

"Offence taken." Dave said.

"Oh no, this doesn't have anything to do with you partnering up with Jo earlier, does it?" Scott wondered.

"None of your business." Dave replied. "Let's vote my way now. We'll split the difference with you voting for Leshawna and me voting for Harold. That way, at least one threat is eliminated. Are we clear?"

"Okay, fine we'll do it your way tonight." Scott told him.

"Good." Dave said, sounding satisfied.

Dave exited the bathroom.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Dave)**

"You know, having this power feels pretty good." Dave remarked, leaning back in the chair slightly. "I really could take control of this game if I wanted. Maybe I could even get Sky to apologize to me?"

* * *

 **(Confessional: Scott)**

"Okay, either Dave stops this weird ego trip he's on or I stop it for him." Scott stated. "Hmm… I wonder if there's any way to use this to my advantage."

* * *

The scene changed to Leshawna and Harold sitting next to each other in the front of the bus.

"Look, I'm really sorry about losing us the challenge." Harold apologized.

"It's fine. What are the chances of either of us being eliminated anyway?" Leshawna asked.

"Well, with the fact that people might start realizing that both of us have yet to be targeted and the ever decreasing pool of contestants, surprisingly high." Harold told her.

"Y'know, you're real bad at making people feel better sometimes." Leshawna remarked.

"It's just simple facts." Harold stated. "But it was also a bit of a downer…"

"Let's just talk about this later." Leshawna told him.

"Good plan." Harold agreed.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Leshawna)**

"I don't hate Harold. But maybe I should spend less time around him." Leshawna said. "I feel like it's throwing both of our focuses."

* * *

The scene changed to the contestants sitting in front of the stage with Chris on it.

"Well, I think it's safe to say we all had a long day." Chris commented.

"Easy for you to say, you barely did anything today." Sky pointed out.

"Hey! I'm the host here." Chris told her. "No backtalk."

"Jeez, what are you? A teacher?" Scott asked.

"Can you stop insulting me and get to the voting?" Chris asked. "That'd be great."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Sky)**

Sky held up a photograph of Dave with an X over it.

"Not gonna lie, I really won't miss you that much." Sky admitted. "In fact, I'd rather you leave. Don't wanna see you go totally unhinged again."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Scott)**

"To be honest, it's either Dave or Leshawna for me." Scott told the audience. "I know it's stupid to vote out your own alliance. But after that conversation we had earlier, I'm starting to think I might wanna search for new blood. But I'll have to think a bit more…"

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Harold)**

Harold held a crossed out photograph of Scott to the camera.

"I didn't have time to think out my vote with how much I was thinking about Leshawna and how I screwed up." Harold admitted. "But I might as well try to vote off Scott. He definitely has this coming to him."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Dave)**

Dave drew an X over a photograph of Harold and showed it to the camera.

"Sorry, but you _definitely_ seem smarter than me." Dave said. "So I don't really want you ruining my chances. Sure hope Scott goes along with my plan."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Lightning)**

Lightning showed a drawn on photo of Leshawna to the camera.

"Lightning and his awesome new alliance came to a conclusion." Lightning told the audience. "Y'see, Lightning figured that Leshawna's planning something. Why? 'Cause Lightning don't suspect her. That means, she's real good at hiding stuff from me."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Jo)**

Jo held up a picture of Dave.

"After that fight we had, I do _not_ feel bad about this at all." Jo stated. "Good riddance."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Anne Maria)**

"I dunno who to vote for." Anne Maria admitted. "I know me and Lightning agreed on Leshawna… But I dunno. Lightning ain't that smart. 'Course, I ain't either. Maybe I should go for her? Lemme think for a little bit more."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Leshawna)**

Leshawna held up a picture of Scott with an X on it.

"As much as Harold cost me the challenge, I can't vote for him." Leshawna stated. "We just might wanna spend a little time apart. Just worried he's a bit too obsessed with me is all. But Scott, I want him outta here now.

* * *

The scene changed over to Chris and Chef walking up on to the stage after the votes were cast.

"So, I'm sure you're all interested in seeing which one of you gets cut." Chris remarked. "Well, that's what I'm here to do. Anne Maria, Lightning, Sky, Jo. You're all good. No need to worry."

Chef threw four awards over to the safe contestants.

"Huh, was not expecting that." Jo admitted. "Not that I'm complaining or anything."

"Dave, Harold, Leshawna, Scott, Chef's gonna hand out two more Gilded Chris Awards to two of you." Chris told them. "And they go to…"

…

…

…

…

…

…

"…. Harold and Scott!"

Chef tossed the two boys their Gilded Chris Awards.

"So, that just leaves Leshawna and Dave right here." Chris said. "And I've got one last award right here. So, the honour of the final award of the night goes to…."

…

…

…

…

…

…

"… Dave!"

Chef began reaching for the award but stopped himself when he saw Harold suddenly stand up in the audience.

"Hold it!" Harold shouted.

"Ah jeez, what's this crap?" Chef muttered to himself.

"I would like to be eliminated instead of Leshawna." Harold explained.

"Wait, what?" Chris asked. "Am I having déjà vu? Because this feels like what happened last time you were eliminated."

"This time I know exactly what I'm doing." Harold stated.

"Harold, you don't have to do this for me." Leshawna told him. "I was voted out. Stuff happens."

"No Leshawna, you deserve better than this." Harold said. "I really think you've got a shot at winning."

"Well, it's your funeral." Chris remarked. "Harold, even though you only received a single vote against you, please proceed to the Lame-O-Sine."

Harold nodded and walked away from the bleachers towards the limo. He reached for the car door handle once he was close enough but stopped when he heard someone approaching from behind him.

"Who's there?" Harold asked, turning around to see Leshawna walking up to him.

"Just wanted to give you a real goodbye." Leshawna explained. "So, you really sure 'bout doin' this?"

"Yes." Harold stated. "I think I've had enough of this show for a lifetime anyway."

"Yeah, same here." Leshawna admitted. "But gettin' that million dollars sure would be nice."

"Hey, before I leave I just wanna say sorry if I ever seemed creepy." Harold said.

"It's fine." Leshawna replied. "Oh, one thing I've got say before I go."

"What is it?" Harold asked.

Leshawna pulled Harold in close and kissed him on the cheek.

"All right, now you've gotta go." Leshawna told Harold after pulling away. "Say hi to the others for me."

"I will." Harold said. "And good luck with the game."

Harold got into the limo and it drove away. Once it was out of site, Chris approached Leshawna.

"Well, I sure didn't expect that." Chris remarked.

"Gah!" Leshawna exclaimed in surprise. "Man, you gotta announce yourself in a way less sudden way."

"I regret nothing." Chris stated before looking into the camera. "So, despite this unorthodox elimination, the show goes on! Will anyone else quit? Probably not. But the only way to be sure is to stay tuned for more, Total. Drama. Winners!"

* * *

 **Votes:**

Anne Maria - Leshawna

Dave - Harold

Harold - Scott

Jo - Dave

Leshawna - Scott

Lightning - Leshawna

Scott - Leshawna

Sky - Dave

 **Results:**

Leshawna - 3 Votes(Negated by Harold Quitting)

Dave - 2 Votes

Scott - 2 Votes

Harold - 1 Vote

 **Eliminated:**

Mike, the Nice Guy (18th Place)

Max, the Super Villain (17th Place)

Lindsay, the Dumb Princess (16th Place)

Geoff, the Funnest Guy Around (15th Place)

Sugar, the Pageant Queen (14th Place)

Jasmine, the Outback Survivalist (13th Place)

Owen, the Party Animal (12th Place)

Zoey, the Indie Chick (11th Place)

Beth, the Wannabe (10th Place)

Shawn, the Conspiracy Theorist (9th Place)

Harold, the Dweeb (8th Place)

* * *

 **And that's everything for the chapter. If you're wondering why I chose this challenge one of my readers suggested the idea to me in a PM and I liked it. But it didn't really require any virtual reality so I skipped over that for this challenge. The rest of the challenges in this story will have virtual reality as part of them though. As for the elimination, this seemed like a good end to Harold and Leshawna's plot together. Also, please let me know how I did writing that. Romance has always been my weakest point in writing so I'm always nervous when I try to write it. Anyway, leave a review and let me know what yout hink of this chapter. Thanks for reading.**


	15. The Eliminator

**Well, this certainly up quicker than I expected. I don't know if that's a good thing or not. Jokes aside, it is good to have it up early. Anyway, I haven't got much else to say so let me skip straight into responding to your reviews:**

 **Nicky Haugh: Thanks.**

 **SideShowJazz1: Thank you, I'm glad you liked the way I wrote Harold and Leshawna. Also, I just found out Total Drama Winners also has a TVTropes page and I'm assuming you have something to do with it. If so, thank you.**

 **SilentSinger948: Yes, that was the only non-virtual reality challenge included in this story.**

 **Acosta Perez Jose Ramiro: Thank you.**

 **CutieMudkipYT (Guest): Well, I can't really change what's happened in the past with this story but I'm sure there's probably some Mike centered competition story out there you'd like.**

 **JOHNHAMMOND1993 (Guest): Your comments are appreciated. Thank you.**

* * *

"Last time, on Total Drama Winners. We were having some technical difficulties. Luckily, we were able to get a last minute challenge down on the farm." Footage of the contestants carrying bags of seed across an open field played. "In the end, our two top farmers ended up being Lightning and Annwinninga wining joint invincibility. And forming a new alliance to boot." A clip of the aforementioned duo sorting through a bucket of seeds was shown next. "In the end, things looked bad for Leshawna until Harold decided to leave in her place." A clip of Harold getting up from the stands to quit played. "Not what I would've done, but whatever floats your boat, man."

The footage changed to Chris leaning against the closed gate to the film lot.

"So, only seven contestants left. And it sure won't be like that for long." Chris went on. "The herd is thinning out and anyone could be next. So stick around for more, Total. Drama. Winners!"

* * *

 **(Theme Song)**

* * *

The scene faded in on the inside of the cafeteria with the contestants split off into three tables. The first contained Scott and Dave, the second had Lightning and Anne Maria, and the third Jo, Leshawna, and Sky were seated around. The camera focused on the latter group.

"So… How are Y'all?" Leshawna asked, sounding slightly uncomfortable. "Get a good sleep?"

"Yeah, yeah, it was… All right." Sky replied. "You?"

"Oh, just fine." Leshawna said.

"All right, I'm gonna say it: Get out." Jo told Leshawna. "Frankly, you're being a very big third wheel at this moment."

"Fair." Leshawna admitted. "Technically, I'm 'sposed to be eliminated right now. But since I don't got anybody to sit with, and I sure as hell don't wanna eat alone, you're stuck with me."

"Can't you bother someone else though?" Jo asked. "Anybody?"

"Nah. Don't exactly trust Scott." Leshawna explained. "Or Lightning either from what I've seen of the guy."

"It's okay Jo. We can all talk about common interests." Sky suggested. "Like… Uh… TV shows?"

"Y'know what, I don't think we have anything in common." Leshawna remarked. "And if we do, it ain't much. So, I think I'll eat alone after all."

Leshawna stood up and walked away from the table.

"Finally, just us." Jo said. "So, what do you want to talk about?"

"You know… I'm not really sure." Sky admitted.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jo)**

"I feel like I was having more fun when there were more people in the game." Jo commented. "More people to order around, y'know?"

* * *

Meanwhile, Scott and Dave were talking over at their table.

"So, looks like that little plan of yours didn't work." Scott told Dave.

"Hey, your plan wouldn't have worked because Harold still quit." Dave pointed out. "If anything, my plan was still a success because we were targeting them both."

"Whatever." Scott replied. "Look, I just want to know if that power trip you went on in that last challenge is over."

"It wasn't a power trip." Dave insisted. "I just want to have some more decision making power in this alliance."

"Look, I let you make the decisions in both the last times we got to vote and it didn't work out." Scott reminded him. "So, we're doing it my way from now on."

"Fine…" Dave muttered.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Dave)**

"Yeah, no, we're not doing that." Dave stated.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Scott)**

"I'm glad Dave came to his senses." Scott remarked. "Now things can get back to normal… Unless he was lying."

* * *

The camera cut over to the table Lightning and Anne Maria sat out.

"Man, Lightning is feelin' _incredibly_ handsome today." Lightning remarked.

"Ever heard of a little somethin' called humility?" Anne Maria asked.

"Nah, sounds stupid." Lightning replied. "How 'bout we both focus on how amazing we did in that last challenge."

"True, we did do surprisingly well." Anne Maria admitted.

"And we're gonna do well for the rest of the game too." Lightning boasted. "Sha-zow!"

"All right, seriously, you need a volume control button." Anne Maria sarcastically remarked.

"Girl, if I had one you'd never wanna use it." Lightning stated.

"Real debatable, pal." Anne Maria remarked.

"Hey man, you're 'sposed to be on my side." Lightning pointed out.

"Right, right, sorry." Anne Maria said. "Anyway, let's just put in some extra effort. I dunno if this challenge will be easier or harder, but either way we should be careful."

"Chillaxulate yourself. Lightning knows exactly what he's doing." Lightning proclaimed, pointing at his own face.

"What the heck does 'Chillaxulate' mean?" Anne Maria asked.

"Y'know, Lightning don't know why he said that." Lightning admitted.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Anne Maria)**

"I wanna be optimistic 'bout this alliance with Lightning." Anne Maria told the camera. "But the more I hear this guy talk, the more I think it's a bad idea."

* * *

The camera cut to the film lot's speakers.

"Good morning everyone!" Chris cheered through the loudspeaker system. "Everything is operational again and we'll be seeing you all in studio eight! Have fun!"

Later, the competitors were seen arriving at the studio full of virtual reality equipment where Chris and Chef were already waiting.

"Ah, so glad you could make it." Chris remarked. "How was your breakfast?"

"Adequate." Leshawna stated.

"Good 'nuff for me." Chef said.

"So, what's the big challenge today?" Jo asked. "Whatever it is I'm pretty sure I can take it."

"Today's challenge is based on… Terminator!" Chris announced.

"Hmm, that don't sound too bad." Lightning remarked.

"Oh, you'll regret saying that when you hear who we've got playing the terminator." Chris told him. "Say hello to… Scarlett!"

A short rotund intern wheeled in Scarlett strapped to a dolly. She had a happy look on her face and wore her glasses with her hair was tied up in a tidy bun although her glasses were absent.

"You know, I really think that these restraints are completely unnecessary." Scarlett calmly complained as she was wheeled in.

"Ah!" Sky shrieked upon seeing Scarlett.

Sky awkwardly looked around and cleared her throat.

"Uh, sorry." Sky apologized.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sky)**

"After what Scarlett did last time I'm surprised Chris let her back." Sky remarked. "Then again, this is _him_ we're talking about so I guess I can't be _that_ surprised."

* * *

"Wh-why is this maniac here?" Sky asked. "Or at least video chatting from a cell far, far away."

"The superiors over where Scarlett's being held tell me that she's mostly reformed." Chris explained. "Don't trust her enough to compete though. Or be without the restraints of this handy dandy dolly."

"Really, I do think this is most unnecessary to keep me confined." Scarlett casually argued. "I am _completely_ reformed now."

"We'll see about that when we let you hunt these suckers down." Chris replied before turning to the contestants. "As you may have guessed by now, the goal of this challenge is to survive. Scarlett will be hunting you down one by one. The only way to win is to either be the last one alive or terminate the Terminator."

"I really don't think I'll be able to partake in this." Scarlett insisted. "Murder, even virtual, is morally wrong."

"Quiet you. Something tells me you've still got a bit of psycho supervillain inside." Chris told her before looking back at the competitors. "So, any questions?"

"Yeah, isn't this kinda like the horror movie challenge you brought Izzy in for?" Dave pointed out.

"And I believe you used me for a similar challenge involving robotic bear last season too." Scarlett added.

"Shut up! Is this completely different!" Chris angrily insisted. "Just blame the producers. Any _relevant_ questions?"

"Why's she still wearing glasses?" Sky asked, pointing at Scarlett. "She clearly doesn't actually need them."

"Thanks to media stereotypes, you're more likely to see somebody with glasses as intelligent than someone without." Scarlett explained.

"All right, that still wasn't relevant." Chris said. "Last call, any _real relevant_ questions?"

"Lightning got one." Lightning spoke up. "In the movie, the crazy robot dude came to the past he was all naked and junk. Is she gonna be like that? Not that Lightning wants to see that or anything, she ain't his type. Just curious."

"Due to the fact that this is network television we can't do that." Chris replied. "We'll be leaving with her underwear because number one that's hilarious and number two she'll be a fully equipped robot killing machine. So we wouldn't want to give her too much an advantage to start with. Anyway, get into the virtual world and let's get this thing started."

"Ahem, could you untie me?" Scarlett politely requested.

"Nice try." Chris replied. "Still don't exactly trust you yet. We'll get an intern to hook you in. Everyone else, get in on your own."

The competitors sat down in the chairs and put the helmets over their heads. The same intern from before wheeled Scarlett over to a chair and placed the helmet over her head.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Dave)**

"I was eliminated right before Scarlett went nuts, but if going by stories and TV reruns is anything, bringing Scarlett back was probably a mistake." Dave remarked.

* * *

Inside the virtual world, Sky and Anne Maria found themselves waking up inside of a department store.

"Ah jeez, where are we?" Anne Maria wondered.

"Looks like a store." Sky told her.

"Well, obviously." Anne Maria replied. "But where're we 'sposed to go."

"I guess away from wherever Scarlett is?" Sky suggested.

"Hmm… Maybe we'd better stay here then." Anne Maria remarked.

"Why not." Sky replied. "There might even be some useful stuff in here. How 'bout we check out the sporting goods section."

"Eh, all right." Anne Maria said. "I'm sure that crazy chick ain't here yet."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sky)**

"Wasn't too crazy about getting stuck with Anne for most of the challenge." Sky admitted. "I don't know too much about her but she seems like she's not the type of person I like to associate with. In fact, I'm not really sure how she made it this far in the game."

* * *

Meanwhile, in an abandoned parking lot in the middle of the night, Scarlett awoke wearing only her glasses and underwear.

"Hmm, it appears that Chris was not being fictitious." Scarlett remarked. "Well, first order of business: Find something to wear."

Scarlett got up from the ground and looked around to see a man in dark jeans, a blue winter jacket, and black tennis shoes smoking over in a corner.

"He'll do." Scarlett remarked.

Scarlett approached the smoking man.

"Whoa, lady, you okay?" The man asked. "Someone mug you or something?"

"What happened is none of your concern." Scarlett calmly told the man. "Now, kindly relinquish your garments."

"I can give you my coat but I gotta get you to the hospital or police or something." The man replied. "I dunno what happened but most people don't wander around in their underwear this late at night."

"I think you misunderstand." Scarlett told him. " _I_ am perfectly fine. In fact, really, _I'm_ the one mugging _you_."

"Huh?" The man confusedly said. "What do you-"

Scarlett grabbed the man by the collar of his jacket and threw him against a nearby wall, knocking him out.

"Hmm, super strength and super intelligence. This shall be fun." Scarlett commented. "Now, I hope this fellow is in my size."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Scarlett)**

Scarlett is still tied to the dolly in the confessional.

"I swear to you, I have changed for the better." Scarlett told the audience. "But honestly, it was only a game. I wouldn't do what I did in real life… I'm fine, really."

* * *

Meanwhile, Jo and Lightning wake up on a public bench by a fountain in a park.

"Hmm… This place looks deserted." Jo noticed as she looked around.

"Well yeah, it's sha-dark, dude." Lightning pointed out. "Nobody wants to come to the park at this time."

"Oh, crap. You're here with me." Jo realized.

"Aw man, where's Annie?" Lightning wondered. "We're 'sposed to do this together, man."

"Hey, I want Sky to be here so we're in the same boat." Jo pointed out.

"Think we should go find 'em?" Lightning asked.

"Probably." Jo replied.

"Got'cha, Lightning'll go help with that." Lightning remarked. "If Lightning knows anything 'bout Anne, she's prob'ly out at a beauty salon or something and your girl's prob'ly out at the gym or something."

"No offence, but I think you're wrong." Jo stated.

"We'll see 'bout that." Lightning replied. "Hold on, gotta do one thing before we go."

Lightning got up from the bench a dug a quarter out of his pocket. He tossed it into the fountain.

"Sha-boom! Good luck!" Lightning cheered.

"I am stuck with a manchild." Jo rolled her eyes.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Lightning)**

"Man, Jo needs to chill sometimes." Lightning commented. "He takes himself _way_ too seriously. Maybe I should wake up before him to see what he does in the morning. Jo's never there when I wake up."

* * *

Elsewhere, Scott, Leshawna, and Dave found themselves sitting around a table inside a seedy looking bar full of bikers.

"Hmm…" Leshawna groaned as she looked around the bar. "This ain't how I like to start a challenge."

"Oh, great, what's she doing here?" Scott complained.

"Hey, there's an uneven amount of people here. I'd have to end up with someone who doesn't like me." Leshawna pointed out.

"At least you got me." Dave told Scott.

"Eh… Good enough." Scott replied. "All right, let's get outta here. I don't know where that psycho-nerd is, but I don't think we should stick around much longer."

"Yeah, I don't like the look that bartender is giving me." Dave agreed.

The door to the bar opened and Scarlett entered wearing the clothes of the man she had previously knocked out.

"Crap… That's the girl we're supposed to avoid." Scott realized. "All right, let's try to sneak out before she notices us."

The trio stood up and slowly began walking towards the exit.

"That sure is a nice knife you've got there." The three of them heard Scarlett say from out of view.

Dave looked around and saw Scarlett talking to a biker whittling a piece of wood.

"You think this is impressive, I've got a shotgun in my car." The biker replied.

"Mind if I borrow your knife?" Scarlett asked.

"Guys, let's hurry up." Dave told the other two, looking back at them. "I get the feeling something's about to go down."

The three of them exited the bar.

"So now where do we go?" Scott asked as they began walking away from the bar.

Before either of his companions were able to reply, the same biker from before was flung through the window of the bar and landed on the hood of a car parked outside.

"You're right, it is a very nice knife!" The three of them heard Scarlett shout from the inside.

"All right, let's just start running!" Leshawna exclaimed. "And don't stop 'til we're safe!"

The trio began running down the sidewalk away from the bar.

Meanwhile, back in the department store, Anne Maria and Sky were walking around the electronics section.

"Damn, how big is this place?" Anne Maria wondered. "Can't find the sports section anywhere."

"Yeah, I'm starting to think we should leave." Sky remarked.

"You kiddin'? If she don't find us, she can't kill us." Anne Maria pointed out.

"Good point." Sky admitted. "But this store will close at some point."

"Ah, I'm sure Scarlett is miles away right now." Anne Maria said.

They walk past a news report showing the partially destroyed bar Scarlett had entered earlier. A small group of police stood outside the bar while a female journalist talked to the camera in the foreground.

"Moments ago there was a scuffle over at O'Connor's Tavern leaving many injured and destroying a majority of the venue." The journalist reported.

"You don't think that has anything to do with _her_ do you?" Sky asked.

"Nah, maybe it's a coincidence." Anne Maria replied.

"Witnesses describe the instigator of the chaos as a white female with red hair." The reporter continued. "Police say to be on the lookout for anyone matching this description."

"Okay, never mind." Anne Maria said. "'Least we know she ain't over here."

"Um… I'm not so sure." Sky replied, pointing to a nearby window.

The two of them got closer to the window and saw the smashed up bar with the cops and news crew outside.

"Hmm… Okay… That ain't good." Anne Maria remarked. "C'mon, whadda we do now?"

"Well, I think we should get out of this store." Sky replied. "If she gets in here, there won't be many places to run."

"All right, but let's try to find a backdoor." Anne Maria suggested. "Don't want her to see us comin' out the front."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Anne Maria)**

"Y'know, workin' with Sky ain't that bad." Anne Maria admitted. "Wouldn't do it again, but it's just somethin' I noticed."

* * *

Meanwhile, Lightning and Jo walked down the street past several shops.

"Yo, where're we goin', bro?" Lightning asked.

"I have no idea." Jo admitted. "The goal of this challenge is to survive, so I guess 'Anywhere without killer robots' is a valid answer."

"So you don't know?" Lightning asked.

"Pretty much." Jo said.

A police officer approaches the duo.

"Excuse me, can I talk to you two for a second?" The cop asked.

"Okay, but you'd better be a real cop." Jo replied. "Otherwise I can and will overpower you."

"Uh huh…" The cop trailed off. "Anyway, there's a dangerous criminal on the loose right now. Have you seen her? From what little we've got to go on we know she's a Caucasian redheaded female."

"We haven't seen her but we'll keep an eye out." Jo told him.

"Well, you kids best be safe." The cop said. "This person is considered armed and dangerous."

The cop walked away.

"Hmm… Now Lightning's worried." Lightning remarked. "We're a target on the streets."

"That is true." Jo admitted. "All right, I see a convenience store, let's head in there and come up with a better plan."

Elsewhere, Leshawna, Dave, and Scott were running through the park Lightning and Jo had awoken in earlier.

"Do ya think Scarlett's after us?" Scott wondered as he ran.

"Y'know, I think we're in the clear." Leshawna asked, looking behind her. "Let's just walk now."

The trio slowed down their movement to a normal walking pace.

"Phew, I'm glad we're doing this. I was starting to get out of breath." Dave remarked. "Scarlett's miles behind us so we probably shouldn't-"

"Oh contestants, come out to play…" The three of them heard Scarlett's voice taunt them from out of view.

The trio turned around to see Scarlett approaching them, brandishing a shotgun.

"Dammit, girl! That ain't the right movie!" Leshawna shouted at her.

Dave and Scott looked and Leshawna confusedly.

"Harold showed me 'The Warriors' after we were eliminated in season one." Leshawna explained.

"Ahem, there's a woman with a stolen shotgun here." Scarlett reminded them.

"Right, bigger fish to fry." Dave said. "Start running!"

The three of them began running down the park path with Scarlett chasing after them.

"Hmm… Now how do I fire this thing?" Scarlett wondered. "I'm sure it can't be much harder than that ray gun I built."

Scarlett squeezed the trigger to her gun and blew a hole in a nearby bench.

"Ah, quite simple." Scarlett remarked as she ran. "I assume Chris made it easier than in reality for the purposes of this game."

"Yeah, fascinatin'!" Leshawna sarcastically shouted back. "We're just gonna keep runnin'!"

"Hmm, give me mouth will you? You shall pay for that." Scarlett told her as she aimed the shotgun at Leshawna.

Scarlett fired her shotgun at Leshawna, hitting her with bullets. After being hit Leshawna was engulfed in a blue light that caused her to disappear once it faded away.

"Is she dead?!" Dave asked Scott, sounding panicked.

"Oh, she is." Scarlett replied. "And you're next!"

"It's hard to take you seriously in the bright blue parka!" Scott pointed out as he fled.

"Never mind, _you're_ next!" Scarlett yelled, pointing her gun at him.

Scarlett fired her gun again but Dave and Scott quickly made a sharp turn off the path, causing her to miss completely.

"Curses!" Scarlett exclaimed. "I shall have my-"

Scarlett tripped over on an uneven part of the sidewalk, landing flat on her face.

"Well… There goes any intimidation…" Scarlett muttered.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Leshawna)**

"If this challenge taught me anything, it's that letter _her_ be a guest was a mistake." Leshawna remarked.

* * *

Meanwhile, Anne Maria and Sky were walking down the street together.

"Okay, I don't think we should panic." Sky told Anne Maria. "So what if she tore up a bar? She doesn't know where any of us are right now."

"Yeah, but we don't know where anyone is either." Anne Maria pointed out.

"How hard could it be?" Sky asked.

"Do you see any of 'em?" Anne Maria responded.

"Actually… Yes." Sky replied, gazing across the street.

Anne Maria looked over to where Sky was turned and saw Jo and Lightning inside a convenience store together.

"Well, that sure was easy." Anne Maria remarked. "Let's go check things out."

The duo crossed the street and entered the convenience store.

"Yo, it's just who we were lookin' for, bro." Lightning told Jo.

Jo and Lightning approach the other two contestants.

"Where have you guys been?" Jo asked.

"Well, we were looking for you." Sky explained.

"So, now that I've got Sky and you've got Annie here, I say we go our separate ways." Jo told Lightning.

"Sha-deal." Lightning said.

"Yeah, I think I'd like it better with Lightning too." Anne Maria agreed. "No offence Sky."

"None taken." Sky replied. "Now come on, let's get out of here before Scarlett gets here."

"Ah, I'm sure she ain't around here right now." Lightning said.

Suddenly, the front window to the convenience store was shot, causing the glass to go all over the floor.

"My store!" The shop's cashier shouted from out of the contestants' view.

"Maybe Lightning spoke too soon." Lightning remarked.

"Quick! How are 'sposed to get outta here!" Anne Maria panicked.

Jo looked around and saw the store's clerk leaving through an emergency exit.

"There!" Jo exclaimed, pointing to the exit.

The foursome hurried to the shop's back door and rushed out into the alleyway where the store's clerk was busy dialing the cops on his cellphone.

"Now what do we do?" Sky asked.

"Maybe she didn't see us go here." Jo suggested. "We could sneak away."

"Too late for that…" They heard Scarlett say from out of their sight.

Scarlett turned the corner with her gun pointed down the ally at the contestants.

"Th-the money's still in the till!" The clerk told Scarlett in a panic. "P-please don't kill me!"

"I don't want the money." Scarlett explained. "I want _them_. You're free to go, however."

The cashier quickly ran away past Scarlett.

"Now then, which one of you should I take down first?" Scarlett wondered.

"Weren't you sayin' that you couldn't hurt us earlier." Anne Maria pointed out.

"I changed my mind." Scarlett explained. "After all, it's just a game. Now, where was-"

She was cut off when Lightning grabbed a lid a nearby trash can and threw it at Scarlett, hitting her in the face.

"Gah!" Scarlett screamed as she fell over, accidentally shoot her gun off in the air but missing everyone.

With their attacker being disoriented, the four competitors ran out of the alleyway down the street.

"Let's book it, Sky!" Jo ordered. "C'mon!"

"Right!" Sky replied.

"You will all pay for this! Mark my words!" Scarlett declared as she stood up.

Scarlett aimed her gun at the fleeing contestants and pulled the trigger. She hit Sky causing the athlete to fall to the ground before being swallowed up in a blue light.

"Oh come on!" Jo shouted. "I just met up with her."

"Yo! This way!" Lightning ordered Jo.

Jo followed Anne Maria and Lightning down across the street and into another alley. Scarlett began running after them. Before she could get much further a came down the street and nearly hit her.

"Grr! Watch out for pedestrians!" Scarlett angrily shouted at him.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sky)**

"Well, as it turns out dying isn't very fun." Sky remarked. "And now, I can never look at Scarlett ever again."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jo)**

"Sky being taken down was a major setback." Jo told the audience. "And me choosing to follow Lightning probably wasn't very smart. Fortunately, I think I did a good job of improvising."

* * *

Meanwhile, Scott and Dave were walking along the sidewalk near the park.

"Okay, so, we lost Scarlett. What do we do now?" Scott asked. "I need ideas here."

"I don't know, I've never seen this movie." Dave replied. "Think, what are some ways you can kill a robot?"

"Well, we can crush it with something heavy." Scott suggested. "Melting it's also always an option."

"And how exactly are we supposed to do that?" Dave asked. "Heavy machinery isn't just lying around."

"Oh, don't be such a Smart Alec." Scott told him. "Watch this."

Scott walks up to a woman standing at a bus stop.

"Hey, you, which way's the industrial district?" Scott asked.

"Huh? Oh, if you keep going down the street and take a left at the next intersection you should get there no problem." The woman explained.

"Thanks." Scott replied before walking up to Dave. "See, what'd I tell ya? This is why _I'm_ the leader."

"You don't have to rub it in…" Dave grumbled.

The two of them began walking again.

"Now, once we're in the industrial area, we lure Scarlett in and destroy her." Scott explained. "Got it?"

"Yeah, yeah, I've got it." Dave replied. "Let's just hurry up."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Dave)**

"I'm tired of Scott being in charge of this alliance." Dave stated. "He needs to back off while _I_ do some stuff for a change."

* * *

Meanwhile, Anne Maria, Jo, and Lightning were running down the street past a bunch of factories.

"Hey! I think we lost her!" Anne Maria noticed as she looked behind her.

The trio slowed their pace to a regular stroll.

"I still can't believe we lost Sky…" Jo remarked, sounding upset. "Where even are we right now?"

"Well, that sign says Jim's Bread." Lightning remarked, pointing to a building across the street. "Looks like a bread factory. Don't look like anyone's there right now. Must've closed down or somethin'."

"Yes, I can obviously say that. But where's Scarlett? We need to find her so we can dismantle her." Jo pointed out.

"Don't tempt fate." Anne Maria told her. "Now that you've said it she's gonna teleport over here or somethin'."

"Pfft, robots can't teleport." Lightning said. "Now if it were aliens, that'd be a whole 'nother story."

"Thanks for behind the voice of reason." Jo sarcastically remarked.

"No prob." Lightning replied.

"Guys, is that you?" A familiar voice asked from behind them.

The trio turned around and saw Dave and Scott walking towards them.

"Phew, thank god, it's not Scarlett." Anne Maria said.

"Oh come on, my voice isn't _that_ feminine." Dave replied.

"Eh, it's pretty girly." Scott told him.

"Hold up, what are you two doin' out here?" Lightning asked.

"We figured this'd be the best place to take care of that crazy chick." Scott explained. "Lots of factories where robots can get mashed up."

"How do you even know she's here though?" Anne Maria asked.

"We don't." Scott admitted. "But she can't be _that_ far behind."

"Right you are…" Scarlett's voice was heard by the competitors from out of view.

The contestants looked over and saw Scarlett emerging from a nearby alley, shotgun in hand.

"I'd like you to run." Scarlett requested. "It's not a game if it's easy."

"What is wrong with you!" Jo exclaimed.

"Come now, I'm merely enjoying myself." Scarlett stated. "Now, run before I change my mind about not shooting you yet."

"Got'cha." Scott replied before turning around and running across the street.

"Hey! Wait up!" Dave exclaimed, running after him.

The other three followed suit, fleeing across the street and into the vacant bread factory.

"Ah, I was in the mood for some knuckle sandwiches." Scarlett remarked. "… Hmmph, even for an over the top villain that was an awful one-liner."

Meanwhile, inside the factory, the six remaining contestants were looking for a place to hide.

"Sweet, lotsa dangerous looking machines in here." Scott remarked.

"Ain't that a bad thing?" Anne Maria asked.

"Not if you wanna turn that robot into scrap metal." Scott replied.

"Yeah, well, you have fun. I'm gonna hide." Anne Maria stated. "C'mon Lightning."

Lightning and Anne Maria ran off further into the abandoned factory.

"All right, come on Dave, let's go form a new plan." Scott told his partner.

Dave nodded and the duo ran into the factory.

"Hey, don't leave me alone!" Jo called over to them.

The doors burst open and Scarlett stepped into the factory.

"Dammit!" Jo exclaimed, running in the direction Lightning and Anne Maria went.

"You can't escape so easily." Scarlett stated, running after her. "Not on my watch!"

Meanwhile, Dave and Scott were running through the factory.

"I don't hear her anymore." Dave remarked while he ran.

"Well, listen closer, she's gotta be around here somewhere." Scott told him.

The two of them slowed down and listened closer. They heard footsteps somewhere in the distance.

"Phew, I think she's somewhere else." Dave said.

"Let's follow the noise and get the jump on her." Scott instructed his partner. "C'mon, I think I see a catwalk."

Dave nodded and followed Scott up the stairs to the factory catwalk.

"What exactly are we doing?" Dave asked.

"I'm still figuring it out." Scott admitted.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Scott)**

"Look, trying to kill a psycho robot is harder than I thought." Chris told the audience. "Huh… Can't believe I said that."

* * *

Meanwhile, Lightning, Jo, and Anne Maria were running away from Scarlett together.

"Aw man… Runnin' outta breath…" Anne Maria panted.

"Don't give up yet, girl." Lightning told her. "You can still make it."

Scarlett fired her gun at the contestants only to miss all three of them.

"I do enjoy a moving target." Scarlett remarked.

The trio's path came to a dead end.

"Dead end! Come on!" Jo exclaimed in anger.

"Now I've got you…" Scarlett remarked, focusing her rifle.

"Hey! Up here!" She heard Scott's voice shout.

Scarlett and the contestants on the ground looked up to see Dave and Scott standing on the catwalk above them.

"I betcha you couldn't hit us from an inch away!" Scott taunted her.

Scarlett fired her gun up at them and hit the catwalk.

"Damn! Missed!" Scarlett shouted.

"Ha, nice try." Scott remarked. "You're gonna have to-"

The portion of the catwalk he and his partner were on collapsed from the damage done to it, landing on top of Scarlett.

"Ow…" Scott mumbled. "Did we win?

Scarlett's fist punched straight through some of the metal of the catwalk.

"You… Idiot, Scott…" Dave weakly choked out.

Dave was absorbed by a blue light.

"Um… Oops." Scott remarked.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jo)**

"On one hand, Scott's plan failed miserably." Jo said. "On the other hand, it gave me a chance to win and stalled Scarlett. One man's setback is another man's breakthrough."

* * *

Scott stood up from the rubble and backed up to where the other three were. Scarlett dug herself out of the rubble revealing that part of her face had fallen off to reveal a robot skeleton underneath. The four competitors looked at her with horrified looks on their face.

"What's the matter, something on my face?" Scarlett jokingly asked, still somehow sounding sinister.

"Where do we run now?" Anne Maria nervously asked the others.

Jo looked over and saw one of the disabled conveyor belts leading into a small area in the wall.

"There!" Jo exclaimed, pointing at the belt.

The foursome ran up on to the belt and through the hole in the wall meant for processing bread. Scarlett pulled her gun's trigger but nothing happened.

"Curses! No bullets!" Scarlett exclaimed before tossing the gun aside and climbing up on the conveyor belt to chase after them.

Scarlett stopped right before she entered when she noticed a bright red button marked "Start".

"Hmm… This should be interesting." Scarlett remarked, pressing the button.

Meanwhile, inside the area the conveyor belt led to, the remaining contestants ran down the belt as the machinery whirred to life.

"Uh… What's goin' on here?" Lightning asked.

"Looks like someone turned this thing on." Jo observed.

"Eh, it's a bread-making factory. How bad could it be." Scott brushed off their concerns. "The conveyor belt's already going the right way."

"Hello! Guess who's been saving her nice for a special occasion!" Scarlett shouted as she ran at the contestants, brandishing a knife.

"On the downside, it means she can catch up to us faster!" Scott realized.

"Uh, we're kinda trapped between a rock and a hard place…" Anne Maria nervously told the others, pointing to a large metal press on the ceiling slamming into the conveyor belt repeatedly. "We're 'bout to become pancakes…"

"Why the sha-heck does a bread factory need that!?" Lightning exclaimed. "Somethin' tells Lightning Chris just added this."

"Hmm… I'm getting an idea…" Jo murmured, stopping in her tracks and turning back around to Scarlett.

"Have fun with that. I'm gonna stay alive." Scott told her. "Or at the very least, _try_ not to get squished."

Scott ran at the pressing mechanism and he made it past before it pressed down on the belt.

"C'mon hair girl, let's try it out." Lightning told Anne Maria.

"All right." Anne Maria replied before she and Lightning ran further along the conveyor belt.

Lightning made it past the press but the machine came down on Anne Maria, crushing her. When it lifted up she was completely gone.

"Sha-yikes!" Lightning shouted. "That musta hurt!"

* * *

 **(Confessional: Anne Maria)**

"Unbelievable!" Anne Maria exclaimed, throwing her arms in the air. "I'm in a challenge with a killer robot and a freakin' bread factory's what kills me."

* * *

"What's the matter?" Scarlett asked Jo as she walked towards her. "Don't wanna run off with your little friends?"

"No, 'cause I've got a plan!" Jo declared before charging at Scarlett.

Scarlett drew her knife but when Jo reached her attacker she grabbed Scarlett's hand, causing the knife to drop.

"Hmmph, nice work." Scarlett complimented. "But I'm still an incredibly strong robot in this world."

Jo and Scarlett began grappling, trying to overpower each other.

"C'mon, just give up…" Jo muttered as the conveyor belt drew the two of them closer to the press.

"How about you do it first?" Scarlett asked as they continued to fight.

"I will not be defeated by some manic poindexter!" Jo proclaimed.

"Looks like you already are…" Scarlett told her as she began to overpower Jo.

"Really? You might wanna look up." Jo replied, still struggling against Scarlett.

"What?" Scarlett remarked, looking up to see that they were both right above the press. "Oh dear…"

Jo broke free from Scarlett's grip and moved away from the crushing mechanism. The machine pressed down on Scarlett, crushing the villain.

"And that takes care of that." Jo commented as she began to glow a light blue shade.

She was then swallowed up by the light.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jo)**

"Y'know, I'm pretty proud of that win." Jo told the audience. "Hollywood, if you need a new action star who does her own stunts, I'm your gal."

* * *

Back in the real world, the contestants were getting up from their chairs and removing their helmets. The intern took Scarlett's helmet off from their head.

"And it looks like Jo wins the challenge!" Chris announced.

"That's great. Can we please get _her_ to never appear on this show again?" Jo requested, pointing to Scarlett. "She's certifiably insane!"

"Oh come now, I was only having a little fun." Scarlett insisted. "Wouldn't you have done the same thing?"

"No!" Jo shouted. "What is wrong with you?"

"All right, that's enough, Scarlett." Chris said before turning to the intern. "Random intern I never learned the name of, take her away."

The intern wheeled Scarlett away from the studio.

"So… Just makin' sure I heard this right, _she_ won?" Leshawna asked, pointing at Jo.

"Indeed she did." Chris replied.

"Well, makes more sense than the last three people who won here." Leshawna remarked.

"All right, Chef will now prepare you a delicious… Okay, an average… He'll make you some food." Chris told them. "Anyway, you can discuss who you'll vote for over a nice lukewarm meal."

"Yay, how exciting." Scott sarcastically said.

The scene switched to the competitors in the cafeteria and several separate tables. The first table Lightning and Anne Maria sat at, the second one Scott and Dave were eating at, and the final one had Sky and Jo. Leshawna wandered around attempting to find a table.

The camera focused on Scott and Dave's table.

"All right, I may have lost but I've still got another plan." Scott told him. "All we've gotta do is-"

Scott stopped himself when he saw Leshawna approaching.

"Y'all mind if I sit here?" Leshawna asked. "Or are ya too busy plotting?"

"The latter." Dave replied.

"Well, guess I'll just go then. "Leshawna said before leaving.

"So, where was I?" Scott asked. "Oh, right, the plan. My plan is to vote out Anne Maria."

"Why her?" Dave questioned.

"Think about it, she's got zero talents but she's in the final seven instead of someone like that humongous Australian chick." Scott reasoned. "She's trying to float past our radar. But I won't let that happen."

"I'm not so sure about this. Maybe we should go for someone else." Dave suggested.

"Oh no, we are not going for _your_ ideas again." Scott told him. "We did it last time and the time before that. And neither time did it work."

"Can't you just give me a chance?" Dave pleaded. "You aren't exactly the best planner either. Your plan to win the challenge ended up with the catwalk we were on falling down."

"Look, we're voting for Anne Maria and that's final." Scott told him.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Dave)**

"All right _next time_ I'm taking charge." Dave stated. "That's final!"

* * *

The camera cut over to Leshawna approaching Jo and Sky's table.

"Hey, do either of Y'all mind if I sit here?" Leshawna asked.

"I mind quite a bit." Jo bluntly replied.

"Well, that went 'bout as well as I expected." Leshawna remarked.

She walked away from the table.

"So, Sky, let's talk business." Jo told her partner. "Who do you think we should go for tonight? Me personally, I want to get rid of Lightning."

"Why him exactly?" Sky asked.

"Listen, we have a history. Kinda like you and Dave but less extreme I'm assuming." Jo explained. "Anyway, it'd just be real satisfying to get that guy outta here."

"We might as well try it." Sky agreed. "It's not like he's that popular."

"Great, glad we could settle that." Jo remarked.

Over in another part of the cafeteria, Leshawna approached Lightning and Anne Maria's table.

"Yo, wanna sit here, girl?" Lightning asked.

"Finally, someone _asks me_." Leshawna remarked. "I sure do."

"What're you doin'?" Anne Maria whispered to Lightning. "We're 'sposed to be strategizing or whatever."

"Chill girl, we can still do that. We just can't talk 'bout Leshawna here." Lightning explained.

"I was just lookin' for somewhere to sit anyway." Leshawna said. "Y'all go on."

"'Kay, thanks." Anne Maria replied before looking at Lightning. "So, who should we try to boot? I think Scott's a good target."

"Yeah, he ain't popular." Lightning agreed. "Lightning says we go for it, man."

"Y'all make a good point." Leshawna remarked. "I might just do that too."

"Hey man! Don't steal Lightning's idea!" Lightning told her.

"Hey, I never said I made a decision yet." Leshawna said. "You're still on the menu."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Leshawna)**

"Y'know, sometimes I feel like I say too much when I shouldn't." Leshawna commented.

* * *

The scene changed to the contestants gathered in front of the stage for the elimination ceremony.

"Hello, hello everyone." Chris greeted the contestants as he walked up on stage. "So how are you feeling? Did Scarlett treat you well?"

"You already know the answer to your own question." Leshawna told him.

"Right you are." Chris admitted. "All right, let's just get into things. Vote and we'll see what happens."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Anne Maria)**

Anne Maria drew an X on a photo of Scott and held it to the camera.

"All right, I'm pretty sure this thing's gonna work." Anne Maria confidently stated. "If it don't, some other unlucky sap's gonna be gone. Either way, it ain't me."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Dave)**

Dave crossed out a photograph of Anne Maria and showed it to the camera.

"Not my first pick but I don't really have any other choice." Dave said. "I could vote Scott off myself… No, no that'd be stupid."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Jo)**

Jo held up a drawn over photo of Lightning.

"Lightning, so long." Jo told the camera. "And also, one last time: I'm a girl!"

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Leshawna)**

"Ain't really sure what to do." Leshawna admitted. "Those two had a point 'bout Scott earlier. But Jo's also kinda threatening. And Lightning's just plain annoying… Hmm… Need think 'bout this a bit more."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Lightning)**

Lightning crossed out a picture of Scott.

"Sha-bye, Scott." Lightning said. "Anne seems to know what she's talkin' about on this one."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Sky)**

Sky held up a photo of Lightning with an X over it.

"Since Jo helped with me getting want to get rid of Dave it's only fair I return the favour." Sky remarked.

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Scott)**

Scott showed a drawn over a photograph of Anne Maria to the camera.

"Dave had better not mess this up." Scott commented.

* * *

The scene faded ahead to the contestants after they had voted.

"So, I've gone over the votes." Chris told them. "So, let's look at the results. Leshawna, Jo, Sky, and Dave. You're all in the clear."

Chef threw the four of them Gilded Chris Awards.

"Scott, Lightning, Anne Maria. Here we have three of you and two of these nice shiny awards." Chris remarked. "But the next two awards-"

"Hold up!" Lightning interrupted. "Lightning would like to make a move."

Lightning took his wooden Chris statue and held it up.

"Sha-safety!" Lightning cheered.

"Well, this sure changes some things." Chris remarked. Because you were about to be the one eliminated. Chef, give him one of those Gilded Chris Awards."

Chef complied and tossed Lightning one of the statues of Chris.

"Scott and Anne Maria, I can only give one of you this award." Chris told them. "And it goes to…"

…

…

…

…

…

…

"… Neither of you! We've had another tie!"

"So what do we have to do now?" Scott asked. "Do we have to eat chili peppers through the nose or something?"

"To be honest, the producers didn't anticipate more than one tie." Chris admitted. "And repeating the last tiebreaker challenge would make it boring for the folks at home. So, we'll do this in a more traditional way. Everyone gets a chance to revote but the catch is you can only vote for those in the bottom two. So Scott, Annie. We already know who you're voting for."

"Oh boy…. I'm gettin' a bad feeling." Anne Maria remarked.

"Now, we don't exactly have time to strategize so just hop into those confessionals and vote again!" Chris instructed them.

"Right now?" Leshawna asked.

"Yes! Now!" Chris order. "Go!"

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Anne Maria)**

Anne Maria held the same crossed out picture of Scott as before.

"Duh, 'course I'm voting for him. Ain't like I got much choice." Anne Maria remarked.

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Scott)**

Scott showed the same photo of Anne Maria as before to the camera.

"Yeah, I don't really have much choice in this matter." Scott said. "I could always vote for myself, but that would be stupid."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Jo)**

Jo held up a crossed-out photo of Anne Maria.

"Well, since Lightning's out of question, you're the second most annoying person here in my opinion." Jo stated. "Seriously, get some hairspray that doesn't invade my nostrils with how many chemicals are in it."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Leshawna)**

Leshawna drew an X over a photo of Scott and held it in view of the camera.

"Well, since Lightning ain't an option anymore and it looks like I've only got two choices, I vote for Scott." Leshawna explained. "He seems _much worse_ than her."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Lightning)**

Lightning held the same photograph of Scott with an X over it as before.

"Yo, if the plan ain't broke, don't fix it." Lightning said.

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Sky)**

Sky crossed out a photo of Anne Maria and showed it to the camera.

"Before I went into the confessional Jo told me to vote for Anne Maria." Sky explained. "Don't really get why but she seems to know what she's doing. Plus, Anne's kinda annoying."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Dave)**

"Y'know, I've been thinking, maybe this tiebreaker is a sign." Dave remarked. "Maybe I could take charge of this game and get rid of Scott. He is holding me down… Yeah, I could do it… Or, I could play it safe and vote for Anne Maria. I don't know yet."

* * *

The scene switched to Chris walking up on the stage after the votes had been cast for the second time.

"All right, I've tallied up round two of the votes." Chris explained. "So, you already know that Scott and Anne Maria are the only two options. Which one of them gets this last Gilded Chris Award? Well, the answer is…"

…

…

…

…

…

…

"… Anne Maria!"

"Aw yeah, baby!" Anne Maria cheered. "Made it!"

"Wait, I'm the one who's eliminated?" Scott asked, sounding angry. "That's not fair!"

"Hey, that's how the game goes. Please proceed to the Lame-O-Sine where Scarlett is waiting for you." Chris instructed.

"Seriously? I have to carpool with a crazy person too?" Scott asked. "Can this day get any worse?"

He stood up from the bleachers and began walking towards the limo.

"Y'know, I don't regret this." Dave quietly remarked as he saw his partner walking away.

The scene cut over to Scott entering the limousine with a handcuffed Scarlett sat next to him.

"Huh, so he wasn't kidding about you." Scott remarked. "Well… This should be fun."

"You need not worry about your own life and limb." Scarlett stated. "I can not lay a single finger on you. Quite literally due to these restraints."

"Oh, great." Scott sarcastically remarked.

"So, now that you're no longer on the show would you like to go anywhere?" Scarlett asked.

"Hmm…. Y'know, I could go for milkshakes right now." Scott commented.

"Hmmph, not exactly the most nutritious option." Scarlett said. "But I do quite enjoy the strawberry flavouring."

"Whatever. As long as you don't go psycho and try to break my neck I'll be fine." Scott replied.

The camera cut to the outside of the car as it drove off. Once it was gone Chris walked up to the end of the red carpet.

"And after another tiebreaker, another contestant leaves." Chris told the audience. "Will there be another tie in the future? I hope not 'cause that'd just get boring. But the only way to find out what will become of our final six is to watch, Total. Drama. Winners!"

* * *

 **I** **nitial Votes:**

Anne Maria - Scott

Dave - Anne Maria

Jo - Lightning

Leshawna - Lightning

Lightning - Scott

Scott - Anne Maria

Sky - Lightning

 **Initial Votes:**

Leshawna - 3 Votes (Cancelled by Idol)

Scott - 2 Votes

Anne Maria - 2 Votes

* * *

 **Tiebreaker Votes:**

Anne Maria - Scott

Dave - Scott

Jo - Anne Maria

Leshawna - Scott

Lightning - Scott

Scott - Anne Maria

Sky - Anne Maria

 **Tiebreaker Results:**

Scott - 4 Votes

Anne Maria - 3 Votes

 **Eliminated:**

Mike, the Nice Guy (18th Place)

Max, the Super Villain (17th Place)

Lindsay, the Dumb Princess (16th Place)

Geoff, the Funnest Guy Around (15th Place)

Sugar, the Pageant Queen (14th Place)

Jasmine, the Outback Survivalist (13th Place)

Owen, the Party Animal (12th Place)

Zoey, the Indie Chick (11th Place)

Beth, the Wannabe (10th Place)

Shawn, the Conspiracy Theorist (9th Place)

Harold, the Dweeb (8th Place)

Scott, the Schemer (7th Place)

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. This was, again, shorter than I expected although I don't mind as it makes it easier for you all to read. As for the elimination, I thought this was the best time to get rid of Scott plus I thought it'd be interesting to have Dave get fed up with him. I had fun writing this challenge, especially Scarlett as the terminator. Speaking of which, I recommend the Terminator movies as a good series of Sci-Fi/Action films. I've only seen the first two, however. Anyway, please be sure to leave a review and let me know what you think. Thanks for reading.**


	16. Sword Fright

**Well, not only is this chapter shorter than I expected but it also took longer to write than I expected. Not sure how both those things happened at the same time, but whatever. Anyway, I don't have too many more comments, but before I start, here are all my responses to the reviews I got last time:**

 **SideshowJazz1:** I've seen the same video you're talking about, and the actor that was listed was Robert Patrick as the T-1000. Anyway, thanks for all the other feedback too, it's much appreciated.

 **Acosta Perez Jose Ramiro:** Thank you, I didn't even intend for that to happen but I guess it fits.

 **Nicky Haugh:** Thanks.

 **SilentSinger948:** Thank you for the feedback.

 **That British Guy (Guest):** Thanks for pointing out the mistake, I made sure to correct it.

 **JOHNHAMMOND1993 (Guest):** I'll consider your polar express idea, I haven't seen the movie in a while but it might work.

 **gabage6.2:** I'm glad that you like the Aftermath.

* * *

"Last time on Total Drama Winners. With a mostly safe guest spot from Scarlett, our competitors re-enacted Terminator." Footage of the contestants running from Scarlett inside the abandoned factory played. "In the end, it was Jo that terminated the Terminator." A clip of Jo fighting with Scarlett was seen next. "And, in an act of attempting to assert himself. Dave ended up voting out his only alliance member: Scott." A clip of Scott entering the limousine played next. "Not what I woulda done."

The footage changed to Chris exiting his trailer.

"But that's the past and this is the now." Chris told the audience. "We're at the final six and there are still movies for the production crew to turn into challenges. Stick around and find out soon, on Total. Drama. Winners!"

* * *

 **(Theme Song)**

* * *

The camera opened on a shot of the cafeteria. Inside the mess hall, the competitors had once again split off into separate tables with Dave and Leshawna at one, Sky and Jo seated at another, and Anne Maria and Lightning at the last one.

The camera focused on Dave and Leshawna's table as they both poked at their food.

"So… How are you?" Dave asked, trying to start up a conversation.

"Uh… Fine." Leshawna replied, sounding uncomfortable.

There was a long pause as the two of them sat around in silence not knowing what to say.

"Man, we have not got much to talk about." Dave observed.

"Eh, there's gotta be something." Leshawna told him. "Hmm… Guess you're pretty worried now that Scott's gone."

"Are you kidding? It's great to have this much freedom." Dave replied. "Nothing can stop me now."

"Sounds like you're gettin' overconfident." Leshawna told him.

"No, I'm not." Dave denied. "It's all smooth sailing from here."

Leshawna rolled her eyes.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Leshawna)**

"Dave's gonna get himself eliminated, mark my words." Leshawna remarked. "Hmm… 'Course, I could team up with him. I'm pretty alone too."

* * *

The scene changed over to Lightning and Anne Maria's table.

"Woo! We're on toppa the game right now!" Lightning cheered.

"Lightning, ya just used your idol and we were _both_ up for elimination in the last challenge." Anne Maria pointed out. "Aren't ya a little worried?"

"Nah, there ain't nothin' to be worried about." Lightning stated. "We're gonna own this game. Lightning was just unlucky in that last challenge. He's gonna be the winner this time 'round."

"For your sake, I hope you do win." Anne Maria told him.

"Sha-thanks." Lightning replied.

"Look, if ya wanna win you gotta take yourself seriously." Anne Maria instructed him. "Don't get all overconfident."

"Relax, 'Not Over Confident' is Lightning's middle name." Lightning stated. "That's right: 'Rudolph Not Over Confident Jackson'. AKA, sha-Lightning!"

* * *

 **(Confessional: Anne Maria)**

"Y'know, this alliance was okay at the start but now things are kinda gettin' a bit annoying." Anne Maria commented. "But, if I stick it out long enough, I can win."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Lightning)**

"Lightning gets the feeling Anne don't trust him." Lightning remarked. "Nah, he's prob'ly just bein' paranoid. Two of us are goin' all the way!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Jo and Sky were talking over at their table.

"Okay, we've made it to the final six." Jo remarked. "Things are looking good. Sky, don't take this the wrong way, but I never saw the two of us working together."

"Yeah, neither did I." Sky admitted. "But, here we are.

"And we're doing pretty well might I add." Jo said.

"The only thing that's still bugging me is that Dave's still here." Sky commented.

"Yeah, I hear ya." Jo agreed. "Guy's weak. I know that much after the farm. But after this challenge, let's hope we don't have to worry about him again… Or maybe Lightning. That guy's even more annoying."

"Whoever it is, I'll be glad as long as it's not me." Sky replied. "With only six of us left the likelihood of one of us leaving is getting bigger."

"Again, don't worry, we're the most physically able alliance." Jo told her. "We've got _nothing_ to worry about."

The camera cut to a close up of the film lot's loudspeakers.

"Good morning, etcetera, etcetera!" Chris announced through the speaker system. "Final six, head down to the right studio and we can get yet another challenge underway!"

The scene then changed to the six contestants arriving at the virtual reality studio where Chris was already waiting for them.

"All right, six of you left. Let's see how that's reduced today." Chris remarked.

"You sound way too happy about that." Leshawna observed.

"And you're surprised by this?" Chris asked.

"That's fair." Leshawna admitted. "Prob'ly should be used to this."

"Indeed you should." Chris agreed. "But, enough dwelling on that, you're probably all wondering one thing."

"Sha-yeah, what's the challenge?" Lightning asked.

"I was just about to get to that before you rudely interrupted me." Chris told him. "Ahem, anyway, this challenge is based on the general setting of swords and sandals gladiator type movies. In it, we will host an elimination based tournament and the last one standing wins. We'll go into who's fighting who when we're inside the game. Speaking of which, get in there, now."

"Whoa, already?" Dave asked.

"Yeah, this seems like it's movin' kinda fast." Anne Maria pointed out.

"Look, there are only six of you left. I need to keep this fast paced for the folks watching at home." Chris explained. "Now, into the machine!"

"Jeez, you're real crazy sometimes." Jo pointed out.

"I sure am." Chris proudly remarked. "Now don't dally about. Get in the machine! Go!"

"I'm sorry, did you just say 'Dally?" Sky asked. "Who says that."

"British people." Chris replied. "Now could you please-"

"Since when're you a Brit?" Lightning asked.

"Can we please just move on and start the challenge?" Chris requested. "Get into the virtual world!"

"All right, jeez, we'll do that." Leshawna told him.

The remaining six competitors sat down in the chairs and put the helmets over their eyes.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Leshawna)**

"Wasn't really sure what to expect outta the challenge." Leshawna admitted. "It sounded like it needed a lot of physical activity. Which is somethin' I was _not_ interested in doing."

* * *

Within the virtual world, the contestants, attired in barbarian styled clothing, awoke in a dark room made of stone. The only ways out of the room were a large wooden set of double doors and a smaller wooden door to the side.

"Ugh, why am I dressed like this?" Dave wondered. "I look ridiculous."

"Don't worry Dave, we all do." Jo told him.

"Not Lightning." Lightning stated. "He looks sha-awesome! But then again he always does."

"So what are we supposed to do now?" Anne Maria asked.

Before her question could be answered, the smaller door opened and Chef entered the room also dressed like a gladiator.

"All right, Y'all, here's how we're gonna do things." Chef said. "Two of you are gonna get out there and fight it out to the death in the name of our glorious emperor."

"Does this supposed 'Emperor's' name happen to be 'Chris'?" Lehsawna asked.

"Yep, you got it." Chef replied. "Anyway, Chris told me to tell you 'bout the matchups. Sky, Anne Maria, you two're up first. Go pick 'yer weapons off the rack. You can only pick one."

"If you say so." Sky said.

Sky and Anne Maria approached a weapon rack near the large double doors.

"So, which one you goin' for?" Anne Maria asked.

"I think the sword." Sky said. "I'm more _agile_ than _strong_ so something light probably makes the most sense."

"Sure, I'll do that too." Anne Maria remarked, sounding unsure of what she's doing.

Both girls took a sword off the rack.

"All right, both of Y'all get out in the arena." Chef instructed them.

The double doors swung open revealing a large open Colosseum.

"Uh… How did those doors open on their own?" Sky asked.

"You're in a video game, that's how." Chef stated. "Now get out there!"

Sky and Anne Maria stepped out into the arena and the doors closed behind them. Both girls looked up and saw Chris, wearing a toga, up in the audience.

"Ah! My subjects have come to entertain me." Chris remarked.

"Chris, ya realize that outfit makes you look ridiculous." Anne Maria told him.

"First of all, it's _Emperor_ _McLean_!" Chris stated. "And second of all, as your emperor, I demand that you treat me with respect."

"Yeah, sure, whatevah." Anne Maria replied. "Let's just do that fight thing."

"Of course." Chris remarked from up in the audience. "Please take your positions in the middle of the arena."

Anne Maria and Sky walked to the centre of the arena and faced each other.

"And fight!" Chris announced.

Both girls swung their swords at each other and they clashed midair.

"Hey, you're pretty good at this." Sky remarked.

"For real?" Anne Maria asked. "Ya think I-"

Anne Maria was cut off when Sky used her sword to push her opponent away.

Ha! Caught you off guard!" Sky cheered.

"Ah dang it." Anne Maria remarked. "Nice one. But it ain't over yet."

Anne Maria grabbed a rock off the ground and threw it at Sky. The stone hit Sky in the head, disorienting her.

"Hmm, I've got pretty good aim." Anne Maria noted.

Anne Maria slashed at her challenger but Sky moved out of the way before she could hit.

"Aw dammit." Anne Maria remarked. "Almost had it."

"But now it looks like _I_ have _you_." Sky replied.

Sky got back on her feet and kicked Anne Maria in the back of the knee, knocking her down. This caused Anne Maria to drop her sword in the process.

"Aw, I need that!" Anne Maria exclaimed from the ground as the sword tumbled away. "You've gotta be kiddin' me."

Anne Maria sat up and saw Sky's sword pointed directly at her.

"Whoa!" Anne Maria exclaimed. "Heh… That's sure looks sharp."

"Wanna give up?" Sky confidently asked.

"Yeah… I'd like that." Anne Maria nervously said.

"And that makes Sky our first round's winner!" Chris announced.

"Yes!" Sky cheered, raising her sword in the air.

"Sky, you move on to round two." Chris told her. "As for you, Anne Maria, you get to enjoy the rest of this challenge from the comfort of the real world."

Anne Maria disappeared in a flash of blue light.

"So… Should I go back inside that place or what?" Sky asked.

"Yes, I thought it'd be obvious." Chris told her.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Anne Maria)**

"Didn't really 'spect to go that far in this challenge so I wasn't that surprised." Anne Maria admitted. "All I was hopin' was that maybe Lightning would pull through."

* * *

Meanwhile, back inside the waiting area of the Colosseum, the other contestants were waiting for the fight to end.

"Man, Lightning's sha-bored." Lightning remarked. "There's no way to know what's goin' on in there. We just gotta wait it out."

The double doors swung open and Sky stepped inside.

"Phew, I was a bit worried I'd lose there." Sky remarked as she entered the room.

"Aw man…" Dave sighed. "Oh, sorry. Didn't mean to say that out loud."

"It's fine, the feeling's mutual." Sky told him. "I'm kinda hoping you don't win your round either."

"Oh, I feel way less bad now." Dave commented.

"All right 'nuff of your chatter." Chef told the contestants. "Time for another fight."

"Who's next?" Lightning asked. "Please pick Lightning."

"Just for askin', I'm makin' you go last." Chef told him.

"Aw man…" Lightning said.

"Dave, Leshawna, get to the weapon rack and then get on out there. 'Cause you two are gonna have a fight." Chef told them.

"Uh oh… I've got a bad feeling about this." Dave quietly murmured.

"You and me both." Leshawna remarked.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Dave)**

"I didn't really know what to expect." Dave told the camera. "On one hand, I'm a little weak physically speaking. But on the other hand, Leshawna is... A little overweight. Oh wow, I did not mean it to sound that bad. The point I was trying to make is that we both had a disadvantage."

* * *

Both opponents approached the weapons rack.

"Hmm… Which of these can I actually lift?" Dave wondered. "Probably not very many."

"I'm goin' for the club." Leshawna stated. "I can prolly do some damage with that thing."

Dave nervously gulped.

"Heh, good to know…" Dave muttered. "I'll choose… The sword. It worked out for Sky, didn't it?"

Both contestants grabbed their respective weapons of choice off from the wall.

"All right, Y'all got that done. Now get out there and tear each other to pieces!" Chef ordered them.

The double doors opened again and the duo stepped out into the arena.

"Ah! Another couple of subjects to entertain their emperor!" Chris dramatically called out to Leshawna and Dave.

"Well… This is an interesting way to start." Leshawna noted.

"Chris, that outfit is not a good look for you." Dave told him.

"Silence!" Chris ordered. "You two shall fight. Take your positions on the battlefield!"

"Let's just get this over with before it gets weirder than it already is." Dave said.

"Sure thing." Leshawna agreed.

Both Dave and Leshawna walked over to the middle of the arena and stood face to face.

"All right, let's do it." Leshawna told Dave.

"Fight!" Chris announced.

Leshawna swung down at Dave with her club who quickly countered with his sword.

"Whoa, close one right there." Dave remarked.

Dave moved away from Leshawna.

"How about some of _this_!" Dave exclaimed as he jabbed at Leshawna with his sword.

Unfortunately for him, Leshawna was quick to dodge.

"Wow, you are surprisingly fast." Dave commented as he withdrew his sword.

"Thank you?" Leshawna replied, unsure how to take Dave's remark.

Leshawna swung her club again, this time hitting Dave's legs and sweeping him off his feet.

"Yikes!" Dave exclaimed as he hit the ground, still holding on to his sword.

"Looks like the end of the line." Leshawna remarked as she swung her club down again.

Dave rolled out of the way and stood up.

"Heh, another close call." Dave said. "Let's hope it doesn't happen again."

Dave slashed at Leshawna who blocked with her club.

"Hmm, this seems to be a bit of a stalemate right here." Dave noted.

"Here's a hint for you two! Try to use the environment around you!" Chris called out to both contestants.

"What's that 'sposed to mean?" Leshawna wondered.

Dave looked around the arena and saw what appeared to be a human leg bone on the floor. He moved away from Leshwna and used one hand to grab the bone while using the other to keep hold of his sword.

"Huh? What're you planning to do with that?" Leshawna wondered. "It don't look like it can-"

Leshawna was cut off when Dave hit her across the face with the bone. This caused her to tumble to the ground.

"I'm so sorry I didn't- Uh, I mean, looks like I win." Dave nervously said, pointing his sword at her.

"Prob'ly shouldn't have talked so much…" Leshawna weakly muttered.

"And it looks like Dave somehow came out on top." Chris remarked from the sidelines. "As for Leshawna… Say hi to Annie with us?"

Leshawna began glowing blue before the light engulfed her completely causing her to disappear.

"Hey Chris, one question why was there just a bone lying around here?" Dave asked.

"Oh, we have humans versus lions fight." Chris explained. "Spoiler alert: The lions are usually the winners. But you don't have to worry about that. Get back into the waiting room while Lightning and Jo fight."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Leshawna)**

"All right, so I lost. No big deal." Leshawna remarked.

* * *

Meanwhile, back inside the stone dungeon-like room, the remaining three contestants awaited the results of the duel outside.

"So… Anyone wanna play a game to pass the time?" Sky suggested.

"Nah, Lightning's gotta focus before the big fight." Lightning stated.

"Yeah, same here." Jo added. "Something tells me I'm gonna enjoy this _way_ too much."

"Sha-thanks, bro." Lightning replied.

"Wasn't 'sposed to be a compliment." Jo told him.

"Oh…" Lightning trailed off.

The big doors opened up again and Dave stepped back in.

"Aw man, you won." Sky remarked.

"I know, I'm surprised too." Dave admitted. "Did not expect to win. I _especially_ didn't expect to be saved by a lion attack victim."

"Wait, what?" Lightning asked

"It'd take too long to explain." Dave told him.

"All right! Lightning! Jo! Get out there!" Chef barked. "You two are the only ones who haven't fought yet. You know what to do, check out the weapon rack and get out on to the field."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jo)**

"To be honest, me and Lightning haven't really been friends so I didn't feel too bad about having to beat the guy up." Jo admitted.

* * *

Lightning and Jo approached the rack of weapons.

"Which one you goin' for dude?" Lightning asked. "Lightning don't know yet so he's letting you choose first."

"Well, thanks." Jo replied. "'Cause I already know what I'm picking."

Jo grabbed a mace off of the wall of weapons.

"This baby looks like it could do something." Jo said. "What about you, Lightning?"

"Lightning wants the axe." Lightning stated. "That thing looks awesome."

Lightning takes a double-sided axe off the rack.

"Man, this is gonna be awesome." Lightning remarked.

"If _your_ definition of awesome is _losing_ than you sure are right." Jo told him.

"Hey man, Lightning ain't afraid to trash talk either." Lightning replied.

"You two cut it out and get out into the arena." Chef told them. "Let's go!"

The double doors opened again and the duo stepped out into the arena.

"Sha-yeah! This place is huge, man!" Lightning cheered. "This'll be great."

"Sure, whatever." Jo replied, clearly uninterested. "Let's just get this over with."

"Ah, the final duo has come it entertain their ruler!" Chris dramatically cheered. "What a delight."

"Wow… Just when I thought it couldn't get worse." Jo remarked.

"Gladiators! Take your positions and fight to your death!" Chris announced to them. "Only one shall survive!"

"So… Should we fight now?" Lightning asked.

"You must get in position at the middle of the arena first." Chris explained. "Then the duel begins for real!"

"Uh… All right." Lightning confusedly replied. "You're real weird sometimes, bro. You know that?"

Lightning and Jo approached the centre of the arena and faced each other.

"Ya ready for this?" Lightning asked.

"I dunno, you ready to lose to a girl?" Jo replied.

"Huh? What girl?" Lightning wondered looking around. "Lightning don't see any-"

Lightning was cut off when Jo took a handful of sand from the ground and threw it his face.

"Ah! Now Lightning can't see at all!" Lightning screamed.

"Ooh, this is how I like a fight to start." Chris remarked.

Jo took the mace and swung at Lightning with it. Lightning rapidly blinked and was able to clear his eyes to see the oncoming attack. He quickly sidestepped the weapon.

"Ha! Nice try dude!" Lightning laughed. "You've gotta try harder, dude."

Jo swung at her opponent again but Lightning backed away once more.

"Grr, you're hard to hit." Jo noted. "But not _impossible_."

"Let's see." Lightning replied.

Lightning charged at Jo and swung down his axe. Jo held up her mace and blocked the hit.

"Ah dammit. Thought Lightning was close there." Lightning remarked.

"Nope, not even." Jo told him.

Jo kicked Lightning in the knee, causing him to back off a bit.

"Yo, that was a low blow." Lightning said.

"I can go lower if you want." Jo joked

"No thanks." Lightning replied.

Lightning hit at Jo with his axe again but his foe backed off.

"Man, this thing's heavy." Lightning remarked, looking down at his axe.

"Hey, I haven't got a real light weapon either." Jo told him. "We're in the same boat… Until I win that is, of course."

Jo and Lightning both charged at each other at the same time, clashing their weapons together.

"C'mon, give it up, man." Lightning confidently urged Jo. "You know I'm gonna win."

"I don't think so." Jo replied as she pushed with her mace against his axe.

The two of them continued to push their weapons against each other. Lightning was able to overpower Jo and push her to the ground.

"Wh-what!" Jo exclaimed in anger. "How did this happen!?"

"Dunno." Lightning admitted. "But now, I'm gonna give you the coop D grass."

"Ugh! You idiot!" Jo yelled at him, standing up. "It's called the coup de-"

Jo was cut off by Lightning hitting her chest with the axe. As soon as the weapon touched her she disappeared in a blue light.

"Huh, did Lightning win?" Lightning asked.

"Indeed you did." Chris told him.

"Sha-sweet!" Lightning cheered. "Number one! Number one!"

"Not so fast. You've still got a few more hurdles to jump before you're officially a winner." Chris reminded him.

"Aw man." Lightning remarked. "Well, Lightning still done good."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jo)**

"Grr! How is this even possible!?" Jo spat. "How did _Lightning_ beat _me_!"

The athlete took a deep breath and exhaled.

"Okay, so what, everyone loses once and a while." Jo told herself, now sounding calm. "I only wish that I last to an _honourable_ opponent and not _him_."

* * *

Back inside the cold stone waiting area of the arena, Dave and Sky were standing around waiting for the results of the fight outside.

"So… We've been sitting in silence for quite a while." Dave remarked. "Wanna do something to change that?"

"No, I kinda enjoy the silence." Sky told him. "Helps me think."

"You know, I just realized this is the _least_ uncomfortable interaction we've had in a while." Dave noticed.

"I don't know if that's sad or not." Sly remarked.

"So, how do you feel about the possibility of the two of us having a sword fight?" Dave asked.

"Not looking forward to it." Sky admitted.

"Me neither." Dave agreed.

The double doors opened again and Lightning entered.

"Woohoo! Lightning did it!" Lightning cheered.

"Hmm, didn't see that one coming." Sky admitted.

"Neither did I." Dave commented.

"Thanks for the faith, Y'all." Lightning sarcastically told the other two.

"All right! Time for the ultimate fight!" Chef announced. "Man, I love that word, 'Ultimate'. Sounds so cool."

"You were saying something about a fight." Dave reminded him.

"Oh, right." Chef remembered. "Y'all are the three winners from the first several rounds. So, that means the three of you are gonna be havin' a three-way battle."

"Sweet. Lightning gets an even bigger challenge." Lightning remarked.

"Oh, we'll see about that." Sky confidently told him.

"Hey, I ain't done yet." Chef pointed out. "Anyway, the only rule is last one standing wins. Gangin' up on one person is a legal move. So Y'all have fun with that."

The double doors opened again.

"Ya got your weapons already so head on out there." Chef instructed.

The trio exited their waiting area and stepped into the arena.

"Ah! The victors have arrived!" Chris cheered. "Your emperor was getting bored."

"You really scare me sometimes, you know that." Dave remarked.

"I do my best." Chris jokingly replied. "Anyway, you all go square off in the middle of this nice old Colosseum."

The trio walked to the middle of the arena and stood in a triangular formation.

"All right…. Let the final fight begin!" Chris announced.

The three of them stood around exchanging unsure glances.

"C'mon! Someone make the first move!" Chris ordered. "The cameras demand action! Let's go!"

Lightning swung his axe at Sky who abruptly jumped out of the way.

"Sorry, you can't get the drop on me so easily." Sky told him.

Dave ran at Lightning from behind with his sword. But Lightning heard the footsteps and moved to the side as Dave swung, causing him to hit the ground.

"Hey, looks like I ain't easy to surprise either." Lightning commented.

"Okay… This three-person fight might be harder than I thought." Sky realized. "I don't know which of you to fight."

"I think I know." Dave replied.

Dave moved forward and slashed at Sky. However, she put up her sword and stopped the hit.

"Oh come on!" Dave exclaimed. "I thought I had it there."

Sky pushed Dave away from her causing him to fall over.

"Sha-sweet looks like it's one step easier for Lightning to win." Lightning remarked as he approached where Dave was on the ground. "So long, buddy."

Lightning raised his axe to deal the finishing blow. Suddenly, he froze up and gained a confused expression on her face.

"Why does Lightning's back feel weird?" Lightning asked.

Suddenly, Lightning disappeared in a flash of blue light. Once the light was gone it revealed Sky holding out her sword standing behind where Lightning just was.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Lightning)**

"Sha-dammit, Lightning didn't wanna go down like that." Lightning remarked. "He sure didn't expect it."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Anne Maria)**

"Y'know, I knew I wasn't gonna do well, but I was real surprised to see him lose." Anne Maria said. "How'd he even lose to those two? They're the tiniest competitors left in the freakin' game."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sky)**

"Yeah, that was a cheap move." Sky admitted. "But, I wanted to face off against Dave instead of Lightning. We had a history and wanted to see if we could settle it… In hindsight, _fighting it out_ was probably a poor choice."

* * *

Dave got up from the ground.

"And we're down to the last two competitors in this challenge!" Chris announced. "Let's see how this fight goes!"

"You ready to do this?" Dave asked.

"Sure. Just as long as you don't go nuts again." Sky jokingly responded.

"Ugh! Will you ever let that go!" Dave angrily replied.

Dave slashed at Sky who quickly blocked the hit.

"I'll let it go if you actually apologize instead of just trying to blame everything on me." Sky told him before pushing Dave away with her sword.

"But it _is_ your fault." Dave insisted.

Sky ran forward and swung her sword down only for Dave to step back, causing her to hit the ground.

"You could've told me about Keith before I thought you and me were serious." Dave went on.

"I _tried to_!" Sky angrily pointed out, slashing at Dave but missing. "But you _wouldn't listen_ the first time!"

"You still didn't tell me until it was too late." Dave argued, jabbing at Sky who backed up causing the hit to miss. "I know I overreacted."

"To put it lightly!" Sky added.

Both Dave and Sky swung swords at the same time and pushed against each other with their weapons.

"I know I overreacted, but you're no better than me." Dave finished his thought.

"What? That's not true." Sky told him, beginning to overpower Dave with her pushing. "You teamed up with Scott to get revenge on me, I'd never do something like that."

"Uh, hello, you and _Jo_ seem pretty friendly." Dave pointed out, pushing back a little but still being overpowered. "And I'm assuming you teamed up for similar reasons."

"At least Jo respects me. Scott didn't look like he cared for you." Sky remarked.

Sky pushed Dave to the ground. Dave quickly picked a handful of dirt and threw it in Sky's face.

"Ah! Watch it!" Sky exclaimed as she stumbled around, temporarily blinded. "I can't see!"

Dave stood up and Sky wiped the dirt out of her eyes.

"Look, I don't enjoy fighting you okay." Dave told Sky, swinging his sword only to be immediately deflected. "I just want an apology."

"So do I." Sky told him, jabbing at Dave but missing. "If anything, you owe it to me more."

"Look! I'm sick of fighting, one of us needs to win so we can get this over with." Dave told her.

"Then what are you waiting for?" Sky asked. "Why don't you-"

Sky was stabbed in the chest by Dave's sword. As soon as the blade touched her she disappeared in a blue light.

"And it looks like Dave won!" Chris announced. "I don't exactly get how, but let's just get back to the real world."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sky)**

Sky facepalmed.

"Ugh… Really?" Sky asked. "I shouldn't have talked so much. Too much banter with who your fighting will kill you. I'll need to remember that."

* * *

Back in the real world, Dave, Chef, and Chris woke up from the machine, removed their helmets, and stood up.

"So, it appears that somehow Dave won again." Chris told the other contestants.

"We gathered…" Jo angrily grumbled. "At least Lightning didn't win."

"Uh, if it makes you feel better I don't know how I won either." Dave said.

"It doesn't." Jo stated, still sounding upset.

"How about we all leave this behind us." Chris suggested. "Chef just got out of the machine so he doesn't have any food ready yet. But you all can go relax until it's time to vote."

Later that day, inside one of the abandoned warehouses, Jo and Sky were talking. The former angrily paced about in circles while the sat on top of a crate.

"Unbelievable! Just unbelievable! First Lightning beats me, and then that little twerp Dave wins the whole challenge." Jo complained.

Jo angrily kicked a cardboard box marked "Props".

"Ow!" Jo exclaimed, grabbing her foot. "I really need to watch what I'm kicking!"

"Jo, I think you need to calm down." Sky advised.

"I realize this." Jo admitted as she went back to pacing. "But now both of us are a target for elimination."

"Let's just focus on who _we're_ voting for, how about?" Sky suggested.

"Well, if I had my pick I'd say we go for Lightning again." Jo admitted. " _Especially_ after what happened in this challenge."

"You know, I don't like him either." Sky agreed. "Besides, with how few of us there are left I'd say there's an actual good chance we can get rid of him."

"Great." Jo said. "But next chance we get, Dave's going down."

"Don't worry, I was already thinking that." Sky replied.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sky)**

"Look, I actually like Jo in a weird way." Sky told the camera. "But sometimes I really think she has… Problems."

* * *

Meanwhile, Anne Maria and Lightning were walking through the streets of the film lot together.

"Man, Lightning can't believe we lost." Lightning remarked.

"'Member what I said 'bout you not getting too cocky?" Anne Maria asked. "This is exactly why."

"Don't remember you sayin' anything like that." Lightning admitted.

"Look, who said what ain't important." Anne Maria told him. "Let's just not let it happen again. Deal?"

"Sha-deal." Lightning agreed. "So who should we vote for?"

"Dunno." Anne Maria confessed. "Anyone who ain't us is fine in my book."

"In that case, Lightning wants to vote off Jo." Lightning told his partner. "Lightning's thinkin' Jo'll be a threat if we let her stay 'round too long."

"Why not. I ain't that big a fan of her either." Anne Maria agreed.

"Sweet, things are goin' great." Lightning stated.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Anne Maria)**

"This alliance with Lightning, it ain't ideal." Anne Maria admitted. "He's just… Kinda dumb. But on the bright side, that means we won't think 'bout backstabbing me."

* * *

Meanwhile, Leshawna was sitting in the cafeteria by herself.

"Ugh… I can smell Chef's cookin' already." Leshawna remarked. "'Least I'll get first picks."

Dave approached Leshawna's table and sat beside her.

"Mind if I sit here?" Dave offered.

"Well, you're already here so why not." Leshawna replied. "I can tell you didn't sit down with me for no reason, that's for sure. So, what exactly do you want from me?"

"Heh, you're perceptive." Dave noted. "Yeah, I kinda wanted to see if you wanted my help. Maybe with choosing how to vote."

"Yeah, no thanks." Leshawna declined. "I got this."

"C'mon, we'd have a better chance if we voted together." Dave insisted.

"All right, fine. I'll humour you." Leshawna told him. "Who would you vote for?"

"Easy, Sky." Dave replied. "After today's fight, I'd rather not keep her around."

"Sure, why not, I ain't got no one else to vote for." Leshawna decided.

"Great." Dave said.

"This don't mean we're in an official alliance or anything." Leshawna told him.

"Right, right. Got it." Dave replied.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Dave)**

"Yeah, it's totally an alliance. I mean, who else does she have to turn to?" Dave remarked.

* * *

Later, the contestants had gathered in front of the stage Chris was climbing up on.

"Hello!" Chris greeted the contestants. "How are you fine young people? Lemme guess, terrible?

"Pretty much." Jo told the host.

"Great, just great." Chris replied. "Misery makes for great ratings. Anyhow, you know what to do: Vote!"

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Sky)**

Sky held up a photograph of Lightning.

"As much as I'd prefer to vote for Dave, especially after our little fight, Lightning is also pretty annoying." Sky stated.

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Anne Maria)**

Anne Maria crossed out a photo of Jo and showed it to the camera.

"Yeah, I don't really like Jo." Anne Maria admitted. "Don't feel bad about this at all."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Dave)**

Dave drew an X over a picture of Sky and held it to the camera.

"Y'know, I think I've got a good chance of getting Sky out of here this time." Dave remarked.

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Lightning)**

Lightning held a drawn over photo of Jo up to the camera.

"Sha-see ya." Lightning said.

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Jo)**

Jo drew an X on a photo of Lightning and showed it to the camera.

"Yeah, you've had this coming for a while." Jo commented.

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Leshawna)**

"For the record, I never planned to vote for Sky." Leshawna admitted. "She's all right. I was just agreein' with Dave so he'd leave me alone. But as for who I'm really votin' for… I have no idea. I'll need a little more time."

* * *

The scene changed to Chris getting back on stage after the votes.

"All right, I've counted out all the votes and reached a clear verdict." Chris told the contestants. "Leshawna, Anne Maria, and Dave. You're all safe."

Chef tossed this trio some awards.

"Sky, Jo, and Lightning. I have two Gilded Chris Awards." Chris told them. "This very next one goes to…"

…

…

…

…

…

…

"….. Sky!"

Chef threw the second to last award to Sky.

"Phew, looks like I'm safe." Sky remarked. "Good luck Jo."

"And now, time to give out the final award of the night." Chris started. "The last Gilded Chris Award goes to…."

…

…

…

…

…

"…. Jo!"

Chef tossed the last statue of Chris to Jo.

"Ha! Yes!" Jo cheered. "Million dollars, here I come.

"Sha-what!" Lightning exclaimed in shock. "Lightning lost?"

"Indeed you did." Chris told him. "So, please proceed to the Lame-O-Sine and enjoy your time on the Aftermath."

"Sorry bud, better luck next time." Anne Maria wished him.

Lightning stood up from his seat and walked down the red carpet towards the limo. He entered the limousine.

"Yo, driver dude, any places Lightning can do sports at?" Lightning asked.

"Uh, I think there's a mini golf place nearby." The driver replied.

"Good enough for Lightning." Lightning said.

The car drove off and once it was gone Chris walked to the edge of the carpet.

"And six become five." Chris said. "Stay tuned, 'cause next time we're having another Aftermath. And beyond that, who knows what'll happen next. To find out you'll have to stick around for more, Total. Drama. Winners!"

* * *

 **Votes:**

Anne Maria - Jo

Dave - Sky

Jo - Lightning

Leshawna - Lightning

Lightning - Jo

Sky - Lightning

 **Results:**

Lightning - 3 Votes

Jo - 2 Votes

Sky - 1 Votes

 **Eliminated:**

Mike, the Nice Guy (18th Place)

Max, the Super Villain (17th Place)

Lindsay, the Dumb Princess (16th Place)

Geoff, the Funnest Guy Around (15th Place)

Sugar, the Pageant Queen (14th Place)

Jasmine, the Outback Survivalist (13th Place)

Owen, the Party Animal (12th Place)

Zoey, the Indie Chick (11th Place)

Beth, the Wannabe (10th Place)

Shawn, the Conspiracy Theorist (9th Place)

Harold, the Dweeb (8th Place)

Scott, the Schemer (7th Place)

Lightning, the Athletic Overachiever (6th Place)

* * *

 **And that was the chapter. As usual, I hope you enjoyed reading it. If you're wondering why I eliminated Lightning, it's for the usual reason of me seeing it as his time. Plus, I thought it'd be an interesting way to shake things up for Anne Maria. Anyway, I haven't got that much to say right now. Just be sure to leave a review if you wanna let me know what you think. Thanks for reading.**


	17. Aftermath III

**And here is the third and final Aftermath of this story. I have to say, I actually enjoy writing these because they're short but they're also very fun. But before we get to that, here are my responses to my most recent reviews:**

 **That British Guy (Guest):** You know what, I think the reason I associate the word "Dally" with Britain is that the only time I've heard it is in Mary Poppins. So there's that explanation.

 **M** **attafat:** Thanks for the review, and yes, I am thinking about other stories to do after this one.

 **Nicky Haugh:** Thank you.

 **JOHNHAMMOND1993 (Guest):** Thank you too.

 **SideshowJazz1:** Thanks and I like your predictions. Can't say whether they're right or not though.

 **Acosta Perez Jose Ramiro:** Yeah, I thought it'd be unpredictable that way.

 **SilentSinger948:** Thanks for the review.

 **EliteBlitz:** Thanks for the review, I always love hearing what my readers have to say.

 **Gab** **age6.2:** I like your idea of the Star Wars themed challenge. But I already have an idea for the final challenge. However, I like yours so much I'll have to think about both of them now. Also, your feedback in the rest of the review is appreciated as well.

 **All right, that's out of the way, time for the actual story now.**

* * *

The usual Aftermath logo flashed across a blue screen.

"Ladies and gentlemen… Welcome to this season's final Total Drama Aftermath!" A narrator announced.

After a white flash on the screen, the footage changed to Topher, Sierra, and Blaineley on the centre couch in the Aftermath studio.

"Welcome back to the Aftermath!" Topher cheered.

"We're here to interview our latest eliminated contestants." Sierra explained. "Plus, a special surprise at the end. But more on that later."

"The only reason I'm glad to be here is because it's the _last_ one of these." Blaineley stated.

"Y'know at this point nothing you say can really annoy us." Topher remarked.

"Meh, I don't mind." Blaineley admitted. "Once I'm off this show I'm going to Europe. I hear there's a movie about a diamond thief in Spain and I want in."

"You're auditioning for it?" Sierra asked. "I keep up with all the popular celebrity gossip sites and I didn't know about it."

"I'm not so much _auditioning_ as I am… Crashing the production until they give me something to do." Blaineley explained. "That or they'll just get security to drag me off. Either way, I get noticed. There's no such thing as bad publicity."

"Let's get into your bizarre personal decisions later." Topher told Blaineley. "For now, we have an interview to conduct."

"That's right Topher, let's bring in our first contestant." Sierra said. "He's nuttier than a squirrel's diet but he can still be smart: It's Shawn!"

Shawn walked on to the stage and waved at the audience before heading over to the hosts and sitting down.

"Y'know Sierra, I don't think _you_ should be talking about how crazy someone else is." Blaineley pointed out.

"Why? Is it 'cause of my thing with Cody?" Sierra asked. "C'mon I just can't help it. Have you seen his beautiful eyes…. And face… And-"

"Okay, we get the idea." Topher interrupted. "Besides, Cody could never compare for Chris."

"We can talk about both of your creepy crushes later." Blaineley told them. "Let's just interview Shawn."

"Thank you." Shawn replied. "I was wondering when we'd get to that."

"Right now in fact." Sierra told him. "So, first standard question: How does being eliminated feel?"

"Eh, I made it pretty far last time so I guess I don't feel too bad." Shawn admitted. "But I probably shouldn't have trusted Lightning. He probably wasn't my best bet in terms of who to team up with."

"Ya think?" Blaineley sarcastically asked.

"Look, the whole thing was his idea and I heard he was once a finalist." Shawn explained. "It sounded like a better idea at the time. But at least now I get to hang out with Jasmine."

"Next question, who do you want to be eliminated next?" Topher asked Shawn.

"Definitely Jo." Shawn stated. "Out of everyone left, she's the person that's the least likeable."

"I know I'm technically supposed to be unbiased, but you're pretty much right there." Blainley told him.

"Yeah, something tells me pretty much everyone else will choose Jo for this question too." Sierra agreed.

"Ahem, let's move on to a _less_ biased question, shall we?" Topher suggested. "Tell us Shawn, who do you want to win this game?"

"Good question." Shawn replied.

There was a pause as the hosts waited for a response.

"Is…. Is that it?" Sierra asked.

"Hang on, I'm still trying to think of an actual answer." Shawn explained. "Hmmm…"

"Well hurry up." Blaineley impatiently urged him.

"I guess maybe Sky." Shawn remarked.

"Really? Why her?" Topher asked.

"Yeah, you realize she's working with the same person you said you _didn't_ want to win." Sierra pointed out.

"Oh, I know. But out of everyone left I just feel like I know Sky the best." Shawn explained. "We're kinda friends, right?"

"I dunno. I never saw your season." Blaineley admitted. "All I know is that there are two twins who hate each other, one creepy guy with red hair, and a bunch of other assorted wackos who I can't remember."

"Hey!" Topher exclaimed. "I'm not an assorted wacko."

"Have you ever gone a full conversation without insulting anybody?" Shawn asked Blaineley.

"Not for a while." Blaineley casually replied. "Anyway, we probably have more questions or something."

"Right you are." Topher said. "Shawn, next question: If you could do this all again what would you do differently?"

"Oh, that one's easy." Shawn responded. "I would _not_ team up with Lightning."

"Smart move." Blaineley agreed.

"Any more questions for me or can I go?" Shawn asked.

"One last question actually." Topher told him. "What evidence is there that there's actually going to be a zombie apocalypse?"

"Well, I haven't found anything yet." Shawn admitted. "But I know the evidence is out there. The government's always hiding something. Y'see, my great uncle knew met Lyndon B. J-"

"Okay, boring now." Blaineley interrupted. "Please proceed to the peanut gallery and make out with your giantess girlfriend or something."

"Uh… Thank you." Shawn replied. "Bye, I guess."

Shawn awkwardly stood up and walked over to the Peanut Gallery where he sat next to Jasmine.

"Hey, Jasmine." Shawn greeted his girlfriend.

"Ah, 'ello there." Jasmine replied. "Ya did great in your interview… Well, as great as you could when putting up with that lot."

"I'll take that as a compliment." Shawn remarked.

"I meant it as one." Jasmine clarified.

"Well, that's nice to know." Shawn said.

"Before Blaineley tells us to shut up, I just wanted you to know it's nice to 'ave you back." Jasmine told Shawn.

Jasmine leaned over and kissed Shawn on the cheek.

The camera panned back over to the three hosts.

"Ugh, _gag_." Blaineley complained, pointing over her shoulder at Jasmine and Shawn with her thumb. "Who's next on this parade of runners-up?"

"Glad you asked." Topher replied. "After Scarlett and Cameron, he's this show's third most intelligent contestant. But he's saner than the former and less fragile than the latter: It's Harold!"

With the announcement finished, Harold walked into view of the camera and waved to the audience.

"Uh, hello." Harold greeted the audience.

"Harold! Sit here!" Sierra called Harold over to her and the other hosts.

Harold approached the group of hosts and sat in a chair near them.

"All right, let's not waste any time." Blaineley told Harold. "Let's get to the questions."

"I don't get to make any opening comments?" Harold asked.

"There, those were your opening statements." Blaineley said. "Now, question time: How does it feel to be eliminated?"

"Seeing as I quit voluntarily, I don't mind that much." Harold admitted. "It just feels great to see my lovely Leshawna still in the game."

"Eee! All those stories I wrote are finally coming true!" Sierra squealed.

"Ugh, I will never understand teenagers." Blaineley remarked.

"I think it's more of a _Sierra_ thing than a teenager thing." Harold told her.

"In that case, I will never understand _her_." Blaineley said.

"Don't worry, nobody does." Topher commented.

"Heh, let's just go to the next question." Sierra told her two co-hosts. "Uh, Harold, who do you want to win this game?"

"Well, Leshawna clearly." Harold stated. "Who else would I pick? She is my girlfriend after all."

"True, that was a bit of an obvious answer." Topher admitted.

"Of course, I want her to win, but her chances, on the other hand, are a bit iffy." Harold went on. "She hasn't got any allies and, not to be offensive, but she isn't very physically able either. Then again, neither am I usually."

"So who do you think will actually win in that case?" Blaineley asked.

"Probably someone athletic _and_ brainy." Harold predicted. "So, from what I've seen, most likely Sky."

"Speaking of which, who do you hope is the next big loser?" Topher asked.

"Jo." Harold stated. "She's a competent competitor for sure… But then there's the whole issue of her… Entire personality."

"Don't be so hesitant, we all can agree that Jo's a bit of a jerk." Blaineley told him. "I'd use more fun words, but I don't wanna ruin my reputation."

"You mean you haven't already?" Topher joked.

"Shut up…." Blaineley grumbled. "Don't you have a photo of Chris go French kiss or something?"

"Heh heh, let's move on to another topic, shall we?" Sierra asked. "Harold, next question: If you could go back and do anything differently, what would it be?"

"I don't really know." Harold admitted. "I'm pretty satisfied with myself."

"So you really wouldn't change a thing?" Topher questioned.

"I certainly would." Harold affirmed.

"Hmm, is he the first one to say that?" Blaineley asked her co-hosts.

"Dunno." Topher shrugged. "I don't keep track of that kind of thing."

"Do you have anything else to ask me?" Harold wondered.

"Hmmm... Do we?" Sierra asked the other two.

"Yeah, I got one." Blaineley replied. "What's with the shirt? There's a hamburger on there. What's that supposed to mean?"

"I just thought it looked cool." Harold stated.

"That's it?" Blaineley asked. "All right, fine. Please move to the Peanut Gallery."

"All right, all right, gosh." Harold replied, sounding annoyed. "I was hoping I'd get more time."

"Too bad." Blaineley told him. "Get out of here."

Harold stood up and took a seat in the peanut gallery below Max.

"Hmmph, don't touch me, peasant." Max told Harold.

"Oh no, not you again." Harold remarked.

"I've had to sit next to this guy for a while now, you've got it easy." Mike said. "But at least Zoey makes it way more bearable."

"Aw, thanks." Zoey commented.

"Silence!" Max ordered. "Silence to all of you!"

"You kinda get used to it." Geoff remarked.

"I think it's cute." Lindsay said.

"Hey, you're kinda right." Owen agreed.

"I am not cute!" Max yelled.

"I should've brought earplugs…" Beth moped.

The camera panned back to the hosts.

"Jeez, this show is a mess." Blaineley commented. "All right, let's bring in the next guest. Who is it anyway?"

"Glad you asked." Sierra replied. "He was a villain his first time around but became a shark's chewtoy the second time. But now he's back to being a villain: It's Scott!"

Right on cue, Scott stepped out on to the stage looking unhappy.

"Yeah, yeah, applaud or whatever." Scott grumpily told the audience as he approached the hosts and sat down near them.

"Wow Scott, you seem pretty upset about something." Sierra remarked.

"Of course I'm upset. I was eliminated by someone in my own alliance and on top of all that I had to share a limousine with a crazy person." Scott stated. "You'd be upset too."

"That's very true." Topher admitted. "So I take it this answers our first question?"

"What question?" Scott asked.

"How do you feel about being eliminated?" Sierra said.

"Like I said: It sucks." Scott stated. "Seriously, I was doing so well and now I'm in this place. By the way, those snacks you have backstage taste awful."

"Wow, you're just angry at everything, aren't you?" Blaineley remarked.

"Heh, you're one to talk." Topher said.

"Yeah, I know." Blaineley admitted. "But at least I'm honest about it."

"Let's move on to the next question." Sierra suggested. "Scott, who do you hope is eliminated next?"

"Easy, Dave." Scott bluntly replied. "Next question please."

"Any more details than that?" Topher requested.

"Okay fine, I want him eliminated because he voted for me." Scott explained. "What goes around comes around and all that."

"Suppose that's fair." Sierra remarked. "How about who you want to win?"

"Eh, not that sure." Scott admitted. "Don't really like anyone in the final five."

"For the sake of this interview, let's say we'll kill a kitten if you don't choose." Blaineley told him.

"Okay jeez, if you wanted me to give an actual answer you could've just asked in a _non-weird_ way." Scott remarked.

"Just give us an answer." Topher requested.

"I was getting to it." Scott told him, still sounding bitter. "Anyway, my actual answer is… I dunno, Sky. She doesn't like Dave so that makes her okay in my book. Maybe Leshawna too, I can't remember much about her but I wouldn't mind seeing her win either."

"See, was that so hard?" Blaineley remarked.

"Meh, I guess not." Scott admitted. "Can I go yet?"

"Not so fast, we've still got a few more questions." Sierra informed him. "If you could go back and change one thing about your game, what would it be?"

"Oh, easy, I'd go back and team up with someone that wasn't Dave." Scott responded.

"You're really hung up on Dave, aren't ya?" Blaineley observed.

"Shut up, you'd be mad too if you were in my shoes." Scott stated.

"Fair enough." Blaineley admitted.

"Any more useless questions or can we wrap things up?" Scott asked.

"One last thing actually." Topher told him.

"Ah, dammit…" Scott muttered. "All right, what is it?"

"You're a farmer, right? What exactly do you farm?" Topher asked.

"Oh c'mon, you don't have to ask." Sierra told Topher. "That's like, basic Total Drama trivia knowledge. And honestly, you call yourself a super-fan."

"Just let him answer." Topher said.

"Thank you." Scott replied. "Anyway, we farm dirt."

"How exactly do you do that?" Blaineley asked.

"Well, we cultivate good dirt, and send it off to people who want dirt." Scott explained. "Like, I dunno florists, gravediggers, other farmers. That sorta thing. Can I please go now?"

"Yes, you may." Sierra told him.

"Thank god." Scott replied. "I'm done."

Scott stood up and strolled over to the Peanut Gallery where he sat down next to Sugar.

"Hey! I remember you." Sugar realized. "You dropped me during that first challenge!"

"Dammit, you still remember that?" Scott asked.

"'Course I do." Sugar replied. "Ya dropped three of us."

"Look, can we let it go?" Scott said. "I'm eliminated right now anyway. So it looks like I got what was coming to me or whatever. Can we move on?"

"Yeah, maybe we can move on to a more pleasant interview." Zoey remarked. "Uh, not that you weren't pleasant, Scott. It's just that… Y'know what I'll just stop."

"That's probably a good plan." Beth agreed.

"We don't need any more arguing. Heh heh." Owen said.

"Speakin' of which, we should probably stop talking before Blaine tells us to shut it." Geoff added.

The camera moved back over to the trio of hosts.

"Y'know as much as I hate to admit it, you're right, Geoff." Blaineley remarked, looking towards the Peanut Gallery. "Oh, and don't call me Blaine."

She glanced back at her co-hosts.

"All right, did we do everyone?" Blaineley asked.

"Not quite yet." Sierra told her.

"Dammit!" Blaineley exclaimed. "All right, who is it?"

"Well, it's time to say hello to Aftermath's newest addition." Topher said. "He's got an upper body that looks like it should be weighing down the rest of him, but miraculously, it doesn't. It's Lightning!"

Lightning ran onto stage and flexed at the audience.

"Sha-yeah!" Lightning cheered. "Get a load of Lightning, audience!"

"All right, enough inflating your ego." Blaineley told him. "Get over here and let us ask you questions."

"You got it, bro." Lightning replied, approaching the hosts and sitting down. "Tell me everything."

"Wow, this is already off to a _way_ better start than the last one." Topher noted.

"Sha-thanks." Lightning replied.

"Well, let's get to the first question, shall we?" Sierra remarked. "Lightning, how do you feel about being eliminated?"

"Lightning was real miffed at the time, but now he feels better." LIhgtning admitted. "He's real happy in fact, feels like he was eliminated in just the right spot."

"How so?" Topher asked.

"Y'see first time, Lightning disappointed his dad, then the second time he didn't make any impact. But this time, he left at just the right time." Lightning explained.

"Wow, I wasn't expecting you of all people to be so happy." Blaineley admitted.

"Yeah same here." Topher added.

"Lightning chooses to take that as a compliment." Lightning stated. "But you better watch yourself though. Don't mouth off to Lightning too much or anything."

"Let's just move on to the next topic." Sierra suggested. "Lightning, if you could choose who was eliminated next, who'd it be?"

"Prob'ly Jo." Lightning admitted. "Dude got me outta the game, it's only fair. Y'know, eye for a tooth or whatever. He's got it comin'."

"Okay, do you seriously not realize that Jo's a girl or are you just messing with everyone?" Blaineley asked. "There's no way you're that thick?"

"Lady, what're you goin' on about?" Lightning questioned.

"Forget it, just keep going with this interview." Blaineley told him. "What's our next question?"

"It's literally the same questions every time, how do you not know?" Topher asked.

"Just ask him the stupid question…" Blaineley angrily muttered.

"Oh, right." Sierra said, turning to Lightning. "So, like, Lightning who do you hope wins the game?"

"Hmm… That's a good question. Obviously, none of them compare to yours truly." Lightning remarked, pointing at himself. "But outta all of them, Lightning thinks the second closest to his athletic ability in the tiny one. Y'know who Lightning's talkin' about?"

"Sky?" Sierra guessed.

"Yeah, that's the one." Lightning confirmed. "She seems like she can win."

"All right, next question." Topher told him. "If you could go back and change one thing about what you did, what would it be?"

"Lightning'd undo whatever got him eliminated." Lightning stated. "He don't know what that is exactly, but whatever it is, he'd make sure not to do that."

"I think they voted for you because you're a threat." Topher told her.

"And also, they thought you were annoying." Blaineley added.

"Sha-hey!" Lightning exclaimed. "That ain't true. They were just jealous of his raw athletic abilities."

"Sure, let's go with that." Blaineley remarked.

"Ya got any more questions?" Lightning asked.

"One last one." Sierra replied. "Have you ever considered hair dye?"

"What'cha mean?" Lightning asked.

"It's just… Your white hair is really distracting sometimes." Sierra explained.

"Yo, it makes Lightning look distinguished." Lightning stated.

"Fair enough." Topher remarked. "All right, you can head on over to the peanut gallery."

"Sha-sweet." Lightning replied. "See y'all later now."

Lightning stood up and walked over to the Peanut Gallery where he took a seat.

"What's up guys?" Lightning asked.

"I hate the fact that you're so cheery right now." Scott said.

"I dunno, I can get behind his attitude." Owen admitted.

"Thanks, dude." Lightning replied. "Yo, since this show's pretty much over anyone wanna go get burgers?"

"Ooh! I like burgers." Lindsay said. "But only without any toppings."

"Not so fast!" Blaineley exclaimed from out of the camera's view.

The camera panned back to the hosts.

"We aren't finished yet!" Blaineley declared. "Remember that surprise I mentioned at the beginning."

"Hey! _I_ brought up the surprise." Sierra pointed.

"Quiet, I'm explaining things." Blaineley stated. "Anyway, we're letting all of you have quite a bit of power. You see, in the next challenge we'll let you give one of the remaining competitors have an advantage."

"What exactly do you mean?" Zoey asked.

"Exactly what it sounds like." Blaineley told her. "You all can choose one of you favourite competitors to have a slightly better chance at invincibility in the next challenge. Make sense?"

"So it's like the opposite of when you get us to choose someone to eliminate?" Beth asked.

"Pretty much." Sierra said.

"We'll ask you one at a time and please refrain from any obnoxious side comments." Blaineley went on.

"Y'know maybe _you_ shouldn't be the one to tell people not to make any side comments." Topher pointed out.

"Just shut up and let's get this thing started." Blaineley told him.

"All right, Mike, since you were eliminated first, we'll ask you." Sierra said. "Who in the game would you like to give an advantage?"

"Hmm… Let me think." Mike responded. "I guess Leshawna. She's seems like a pretty good person. I'd like to see her win the most out of all of them."

"Reasonable response." Topher noted. "What about you Max? What's our favourite little villain think about this?"

"Hmmph, none of them deserve an advantage!" Max stated. "In fact, _I_ am the one that deserves it the most."

"Y'know this is a really simple concept." Blaineley told him. "How come you can't grasp it?"

"Silence fool!" Max demanded. "I control you."

"No, you really don't." Blaineley said. "Just choose."

"What will you do if I don't?" Max asked.

"Well, we can call security on you." Topher pointed out.

"Hmm… You win." Max said. "For now…"

"Just choose!" Blaineley angrily ordered him.

"Fine…" Max grumbled. "I choose Jo simply for her being unpopular. Evil helps evil."

"See, was it that hard?" Blaineley asked. "Anyway, Lindsay, your turn."

"Yay! My turn." Lindsay said. "Okay, like, lemme think… This is hard. I can't really remember much about who's left."

"There are only five, Linds. It can't be that hard." Beth told her.

"All right, I'm gonna think some more." Lindsay replied. "Hmmm… How about that one girl? You know, with the big hair… Al Marisa. Her."

"You mean Anne Maria?" Sierra asked.

"Yeah, her." Lindsay said. "I like her fashion sense."

"Fair enough." Sierra remarked.

"Okay, Geoff, it's your turn." Topher told him.

"Awesome." Geoff replied. "Hmm… Leshawna. I think I know her the best."

"That's two for Leshawna now." Blaineley noted. "Who's next?"

"That'd be Sugar." Topher replied.

"Yeehaw!" Sugar cheered. "My turn!"

"We know. We just told you..." Blaineley grumpily told her. "Just tell us who to vote for."

"Well, me and Annie had that little moment after I got kicked out." Sugar remembered. "So I guess her."

"Huh? Two for Anne Maria. Wasn't expecting that." Blaineley admitted. "Granted, I didn't expect her to even be in the final five either."

"Jazzy, pal, you're next." Topher told Jasmine.

"First of all, don't call me Jazzy and don't call me pal." Jasmine requested. "Seriously, where the 'ell did that come from?"

"I dunno, I saved you from that tunnel our first time around so I thought we were kinda friends." Topher explained.

"Yeah, that's kinda weird." Jasmine replied. "No offence."

"Please just vote for something." Topher told her.

"Oh, arright." Jasmine said. "I guess I'd 'ave to vote for Sky. I know 'er the best out of everyone left."

"Wasn't she one of the ones who voted for you?" Sierra pointed out.

"Yeah, but we're still friends." Jasmine explained. "Plus it's only a game."

"Fair enough." Sierra replied. "Anyway, Owen, you were eliminated after her, who do you want to give an advantage?"

"Hmm… Leshawna." Owen voted. "I dunno, she seems like a pretty nice person. And we go back to the first season. So y'know, there's that too."

"All right, Zoey, you're the next one." Topher told her. "Who do you want to be given a boost?"

"Well… Me and Anne Maria kinda sorta did have a team up kind of thing going on." Zoey recalled. "So I guess her."

"Huh, that's _three_ for Anne Maria." Blaineley noted. "What's going on here?"

"All right, enough juding people's choices." Sierra told her co-host. "Beth, you're next. Who do you vote for?"

"Gee, I dunno." Beth admitted. "I kinda feel bad for Dave since nobody's voted for him yet. Seriously, even Jo got a vote."

"So you're going for Dave?" Topher asked.

"Yes I am." Beth confirmed. "We weren't really on the same team, but I wanna make this a fair game and stuff."

"All right, and now we're on to Shawn." Blaineley told the audience. "Who will here vote for?"

"Y'know it's weird that you're talking about me like I'm not in the room." Shawn pointed out.

"Just vote." Blaineley instructed. "I'm running out of patience."

"Have you _ever_ had patience?" Shawn asked.

" _Just vote_." Blaineley repeated through gritted teeth.

"All right, all right." Shawn replied. "I guess Sky. She's a fellow former finalist. So why not. Plus, she's got good sportsmanship."

"I'm at least forty percent sure she voted for you." Topher told him. "Can't remember."

"Jo's just a bad influence on her." Shawn said. "Plus I can't really judge. I was with Lightning."

"Sha-hey!" Lightning exclaimed.

"Oh, sorry." Shawn apologized. "Anyway, I still vote for Sky."

"Harold, you're next." Sierra told him.

"I pick Leshawna to have the advantage." Harold chose.

"Gee, what a shocker." Blaineley sarcastically replied.

"She's my girlfriend, why wouldn't I vote for her?" Harold pointed out.

"That's true." Blaineley admitted. "All right fine. You win."

"All right, who's next?" Topher asked.

"That'd be Scott." Sierra replied.

"Thank god, this thing's almost over." Blaineley remarked. "All right Scott, who do you vote for?"

"Eh, I guess Sky." Scott decided, sounding bored. "I dunno, she hates Dave, I moderately dislike him, might as well give her some power."

"All right, solid answer." Topher said.

"Before we move on to our final voter let's just recap what we have so far." Sierra told the audience. "Leshawna has gotten the most votes with four, Anne Maria and Sky are tied in second place with three votes, and Dave and Jo are in the very last spot with only one vote each."

"So Lightning, if you vote for Anne Maria and Sky we'll move into the tiebreaker round." Topher explained. "Doesn't that sound like fun?"

"Meh, Lightning just votes for Leshawna." Lightning chose.

"Seriously?" Sierra asked. "Weren't you and Anne Maria in an alliance or something?"

"Yeah, totally." Lightning replied. "But Lightning wants to go home so he'll just make sure this thing ends early."

"Amen to that." Blaineley agreed.

"You guys are real boring sometimes, you know that." Topher remarked. "We were gonna have an awesome tiebreaker."

"It couldn't have been that cool." Zoey doubted.

"Fine, be that way." Topher replied.

"Let's just do the signing off bit." Sierra instructed.

"Thank you, finally." Blaineley said before turning to the camera. "So, looks like Leshawna gets to have a much better chance at staying another day. But the question is? Will this advantage end up paying off?"

"You'll have to stick around for the main show." Topher continued the outro.

"But for now, we hope you watch, Total. Drama. Winners!" Sierra concluded.

* * *

 **And there's the chapter. I hope you enjoyed this story's final Aftermath. Also, the advantage that was voted on in this chapter will come into play in the next one. I know that was pretty obvious but I just felt the need to restate it. Anyway, since Aftermath's are less eventful than regular chapter's I don't have much to add to this closing note. So, please leave a review and let me know what you think. Thanks for reading.**


	18. Stealing the Show

**And it's time for a new chapter. Usually, this chapter would've been up a few days ago. But currently, I'm on vacation until the 13th so that slows things down. Hopefully, things pick up once this vacation is over. Anyway, enough of that, on to your reviews.**

 **Nicky Haugh: Thank you.**

 **SideShowJazz1: Yes, I did hear about Total Drama Daycare (Heard about it from you but it still counts). At first I like the sound of it, but the more I thought about it the more I figured it could be hit or miss.**

 **Mattafat: I can't tell you who wins, but thanks for reading.**

 **Acosta Perez Jose Ramiro: Thanks for reviewing.**

 **EliteBlitz: Thanks.**

 **That British Guy (Guest): That's all right, you're entitled to your opinion. Hopefully you find this chapter to be less boring.**

 **SilentSinger948: You'll have to read this chapter to find out about the advantage. Thanks for reading.**

 **JOHNHAMMOND1993 (Guest): Thanks. Also, you'd be great at writing Chris' outtros for the show. Just an observation.**

 **All right, with that out of the way, let's get into the actual chapter.**

* * *

"Last time, on Total Drama Winners. Our contestants fought it out just like in the good old days." Several clips of Lightning and Jo duelling with weapons were seen. "And by the good old days I mean like in ancient Rome. But the one good thing to come out of this was Sky and Dave fighting out their feelings." The footage changed to that of Dave and Sky duelling. "And by good I mean good for ratings. Man, I can be terrible sometimes. Speaking of Dave, somehow he won again." Sky disappearing in a flash of blue Light after being hit by Dave's sword was shown. "But in the end, it was Lightning that got sent away. Go figure." A clip of Lightning being driven away in the limousine played next.

The footage changed to Chris exiting his trailer.

"So now it's the final five and things are getting tense." Chris continued. "But this five will be reduced to four. Which will be the unlucky duck? Find out right now, on Total. Drama. Winners!"

* * *

 **(Theme Song)**

* * *

The camera faded in on an early morning with Dave waking up by himself in the boys' trailer.

"Hmm…" Dave groaned. "Something doesn't feel right..."

Dave got up out of bed and looked around.

"Nobody woke me up today." Dave observed. "Oh… Wait… I'm the only guy left in the game. That means _I_ don't have to deal with anyone annoying right now. Yes!"

He paced around the room for a few moments.

"Wow, I'm lonely…" Dave realized. "I wonder if any of the girls are up yet."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Dave)**

"You know, I thought being the only guy left would mean my mornings would be peaceful." Dave told the camera. "Turns out, they're just really, really, boring."

* * *

Meanwhile, inside the girls' cabin, Jo awoke and got up from her bed. She approached Sky and tapped her head.

"Hey, Sky, up and at 'em." Jo told her.

"Huh? What is it?" Sky asked as she slowly woke.

"Time for our morning jog." Jo explained. "Remember?"

"Oh, right." Sky recalled. "Already?"

"Stop being lazy and get outside." Jo told her.

"All right, all right." Sky replied as she sat up in her bed.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sky)**

"I get along with Jo, I really do." Sky told the camera. "That said… I really wish she'd let me sleep in sometimes."

* * *

Later, Leshawna and Anne Maria were seen exiting their trailer looking sleepy.

"Man… I can never get enough sleep." Leshawna remarked.

"I know what'cha mean." Anne Maria agreed. "'Least Jo let us sleep in this time."

Leshawna looked around and saw Dave exiting his trailer too.

"Yo! C'mere!" Leshawna called over to him.

"Huh? Me?" Dave asked.

"Who do ya think I'm talkin' to?" Leshawna replied. "Yes, you."

"I'm confused, what're we doin'?" Anne Maria asked Leshawna.

"I'll explain." Leshawna replied as she began approaching Dave.

The three of them met in between both trailers.

"All right, what do you want to talk about?" Dave asked.

"How many of us are there?" Leshawna said.

"Three. Why are you asking?" Dave replied.

"Now how many people are in Jo's alliance?" Leshawna continued.

"Two. What's your- Oh, I get it." Dave said.

"Oh… You're sayin' this is our chance to get rid of Jo." Anne Maria realized.

"Exactly." Leshawna replied.

"Hmm, I sure would like to use the numbers to our advantage." Dave remarked.

"Yeah, same." Anne Maria agreed. "I'm not so sure about the commitment though."

"This game's almost over, we just need to be in it long enough to split Jo and Sky up." Leshawna explained. "Now, either of y'all in?"

"Sure thing." Dave responded.

"Yeah, fine. I'm in." Anne Maria said.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Dave)**

"I was _definitely_ on board with a plan that gave me a chance to eliminate Sky." Dave told the camera. "Especially after that fight we had in the last challenge."

* * *

Somewhere else in the film lot, Jo and Sky were off jogging together.

"Ah, nothing beats working up a good sweat in the morning." Jo remarked as she ran. "Don'cha agree?"

"Yeah, this does feel pretty good." Sky admitted. "Hey, so Jo, what's the plan this time? I mean in terms of voting."

"We make sure that idiot ex-boyfriend of yours doesn't win again." Jo stated. "Then we vote him out."

"Just want to point out that we never technically dated." Sky told her.

"Whatever, we're still voting for him." Jo said.

"Great." Sky replied. "I'm all for that."

The scene changed to a close up of the studio's loudspeakers.

"Good morning final five!" Chris cheered through the speaker system. "You know what to do, head down to studio eight and we'll explain things to you! Fun times!"

The scene switched to the final five entering the warehouse Chris and Chef were already in.

"Hello!" Chris greeted. "How's everything?"

"Not that bad." Sky admitted.

"Yeah, I'm doin' all right too." Anne Maria added.

"Boo! It's less fun when you're having a good time." Chris told them.

"Seein' you all disappointed makes me happier." Leshawna remarked.

"Shut up." Chris said.

"Can you please just tell us about the challenge?" Jo requested.

"Thought you'd never ask." Chris replied. "Today's challenge is based on heist movies."

"Uh, doesn't that usually involve people working together?" Dave pointed out. "There are only five of us left."

"Yeah, we were originally going to do this back when we did our farming challenge." Chris explained. "But then our virtual reality system broke and that threw everything out of whack. So we had to put it off."

"But how does this challenge work?" Anne Maria asked.

"You all will be transported to a fashion show where each of you will be tasked with stealing a specific piece of clothing. Preferably, without being noticed." Chris answered. "But please do be noticed, it makes things more fun. Anyway, whoever escapes with their item first wins. Alternatively, be the last one to be alive or not arrested."

"Hold on, how's this going to work with only five people?" Sky asked. "It's not really a heist if it's just five separate people."

"We've tweaked it a bit." Chris continued. "Instead of teaming up with each other you'll be teaming up with several of our special guest stars!"

"Who exactly are these guest stars?" Leshawna asked.

"Thanks for asking." Chirs replied. "Let's introduce them right now. First up, we brought him in from season one, it's Justin!"

Justin entered through the front doors to the studio.

"I heard there was fashion involved in this challenge." Justin stated. "I _also_ heard there'd be a chance to show off my amazing good looks."

"This does not bode well for the rest of your guests." Leshawna flatly told Chris.

"Hey!" Justin exclaimed. "C'mon, I'm right here."

"Don't worry, they're all good choices. I swear." Chris told her. "Next up, every self respecting heist team needs a smart guy, it's Cameron!"

Cameron enters the studio.

"Um, hello." Cameron nervously greeted.

"Seriously? You're letting pencil-arms be part of this challenge?" Jo disapproved.

"Look, it was either him or Staci." Chris replied. "You really want me to pick her for a heist?"

"You made the right choice." Jo stated.

"All right, for our third guest, we brought in someone from Pahkitew Island." Chris went on. "It's Rodney!"

Rodney entered the studio and began blanky staring at the female contestants.

"Pretty girls…" Rodney trailed off.

"Reality to Rodney!" Chris yelled.

"Huh?" Rodney asked. "Oh, sorry."

"Well, at least it can't get any worse." Sky commented.

"And last but not least we're bringing in a duo from our network's other big reality show, apparently. I still don't see what the big deal is." Chris remarked. "I'm better than-"

"Chris, this is gettin' weird." Chef told him.

"Uh, anyway, we're bringing in Tom and Jen from this networks other show: The Ridonculous Race." Chris finished.

Tom and Jen entered and stood with the other guests.

"Hello, world!" Tom waved at the camera.

"We came here as soon as we heard the word 'Fashion'." Jen stated.

"Well… Then you won't be happy that you have to _steal_ said fashion items." Chris told them.

"Seriously? _These_ were the best that you could do?" Jo asked.

"Look, I made a bunch of phone calls and they were the only people who agreed to do this last minute." Chris explained.

"Somehow that all makes perfect sense." Sky remarked. "Except Cameron."

"I had some free time." Cameron shrugged.

"Hmm, guess that's fair." Sky admitted.

"All right, in the last Aftermath, we had a contest to see who'd get the advantage in this challenge." Chris explained. "Leshawna, you got the most votes form them which means in addition to starting off closer to the item you're supposed to steal, you get to pick first."

"First pick, eh?" Leshawna remarked. "All right... I choose the skinny guy with the glasses."

"Which one?" Cameron and Tom asked in unison.

"The effeminate taller guy." Leshawna said. "He looks like he'd be good at sneakin' around."

"Guess that's me." Tom commented as he approached Leshawna. "Don't worry you won't regret this."

"All right, the rest of you get to choose based on how well you did in the last challenge." Chris continued explaining. "Dave, that means you go first. Please choose."

"Hmmm… Let me think…" Dave trailed off in thought. "Rodney."

"Wait, what? Seriously?" Chris asked. "You pick the big hulking guy to be in a _stealth_ based challenge."

"I'm taking a bullet because if he ends up with a girl he'll make them fail." Dave explained. "And I know that Sky and Jo won't choose him since they have the two spots after me so that defeats the purpose of trying to sabotage them."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Dave)**

"Plus I didn't want to accidentally sabotage Anne Maria." Dave told the camera. "But I couldn't say that in front of Sky or Jo. Y'know, element of surprise and stuff."

* * *

"Huh? Did someone say something about girls?" Rodney asked. "Did a pretty girl gets me?"

"Nope, sorry, you're stuck with me." Dave told him.

"Oh well…" Rodney trailed off, walking over to Dave.

"Sky, please pick who you want now." Chris instructed her.

"Um... Justin." Sky picked. "Out of all my options, he looks like he'd work the best."

"Why thank you. _I_ think I'm the best choice too." Justin stated.

Justin walked over to Sky and stood next to her.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sky)**

"Yeah, Justin probably wasn't the best choice." Sky admitted. "But hey, at least he wasn't Dave."

* * *

"All right, technically you two were eliminated at the same placement." Chris told the two girls. "But based on how well you fought, Jo gets the next choice."

"Thanks." Jo replied. "All right, I pick Cameron."

"You do?" Cameron asked.

"I only picked you 'cause I knew you the best." Jo told him.

"Oh… Well, I feel less good about that now." Cameron remarked, approaching Jo.

"Anne Maria, you get the last pick." Chris said. "And since Jan's the only choice, you get her."

"Eh, could be worse." Anne Maria commented.

"It's Jen." Jen corrected.

"Whatever." Chris brushed her off. "It's not like we'll ever meet each other again."

"Hmmph, rude." Jen remarked as she walked over to Anne Maria.

"All right, so, you've got your heisting partners and you'll receive your information on what you're supposed to steal once you're in the game." Chris instructed them. "Okay, now that we're done with that, get into the virtual world!"

The contestants, and their partners, sat down in the chairs and put on the helmets.

"Y'all have fun." Chef told them as he went over to the machine and pressed a few buttons.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jo)**

"Sheesh, Chris really gave us some pathetic choices for helpers." Jo remarked. "Cam might've been the only good one. The big guy didn't look stealthy at all, Justin and those two flimsy looking fashion lovers seemed pretty vain. I think I made the right choice."

* * *

Inside the virtual world, Anne Maria and Jen, both wearing formal dresses, found themselves through the front gates of a walled in building that looked like it was built in the nineteenth century resembling a palace of some kind. Around them, other formally dressed people were walking towards the palace.

"Psst, do know where we're going?" Anne Maria whispered to her partner as she continued walking.

"Not a clue…" Jen whispered back. "I think it's like, the fashion show me and Tom were told about. So like, what do we need to steal?"

Anne Maria felt around her dress and pulled out a small slip of paper.

"Think it's on this thing." Anne Maria replied as she unfolded the paper.

She examined the paper closer and saw a drawing of boater hat with a large fake rose right in the centre.

"Jeez, that's it?" Anne Maria commented. "Don't look that fancy."

"Ooh, Tom would look just fabulous in that hat." Jen commented, leaning over to look at the paper.

"Well, we gotta steal it." Anne Maria quietly told her. "Y'know, this might actually be fun?"

"Okay, but can I like gawk at all the fashionable virtual people here?" Jen asked.

"Eh, why not." Anne Maria replied. "Somethin' tells me we got a lotta time."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Anne Maria)**

"Y'know, I actually liked Jen." Anne Maria remarked. "Now I'm followin' her blog too."

* * *

Meanwhile, inside the palace building, Rodney and Dave found themselves dressed like waiters standing behind a bar with various men and women in formal wear mingling in front of them.

"Whew, this place looks nice." Dave remarked, turning his head.

"There are a lot of pretty ladies here." Rodney noticed. "And they're dressed good too."

"They're not real, Rodney." Dave pointed out. "Virtual world, remember?"

"Oh, right…" Rodney realized. "Hey, what are we looking for."

Dave pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and looked at it to see a drawing of a leather coat studded with jewels.

"Something tells me we should be able to spot this pretty easily." Dave commented. "C'mon, let's get out from behind this bar."

Rodney nodded and the two of them began to walk away from the bar.

"Hey! Where exactly do you think you're going?" An unknown voice from behind them asked.

Dave and Rodney turned around to see another waiter behind them with a disapproving look on their face.

"Where are _we_ going?" Rodney repeated the question. "We're uh… Going-"

"Going on a union-mandated break." Dave interrupted.

"Wait, we have a union?" The waiter asked.

"Uh, sure." Dave replied.

"All right, but you'd better be back. This bar won't tend itself." The waiter told them.

Dave and Rodney walked away from the bar.

"Wow, I can't believe that worked." Rodney remarked.

"Me too." Dave admitted. "I still don't even know what a union _is_. Anyway, C'mon, we have a coat to steal."

Meanwhile, Jo and Cameron, in formal attire, stood by a catwalk in the middle of a crowd of people. As of yet, nobody had gone on stage.

"Oh great, Chris gave me a dress again…" Jo complained.

"Jo, we have bigger things to worry about." Cameron pointed out.

"I know that, bubble boy." Jo replied. "Lemme see if there's any way to figure out what we're supposed to take."

Jo felt around her dressed and pulled a slip of paper from her pocket. She leaned closer and saw a drawing of a pair of high heeled shoes coloured in bright red.

"Hey Cam, have you ever seen the Wizard of Oz?" Jo asked.

"My mom said it was too scary for me to watch." Cameron replied.

"Just keep an eye out for a pair of red high heels." Jo instructed him. "Got it?"

"That can't be too hard." Cameron remarked.

"C'mon, let's slip away and snoop around." Jo told him.

Meanwhile, Sky and Justin awoke in the virtual world dressed like waiters standing around in what appeared to be a kitchen.

"Hey! You two get out there!" A waiter barked at them. "Those yahoos outside aren't gonna serve themselves finger sandwiches!"

"What the- I'm a waiter?!" Justin realized. "Someone as amazingly handsome as me can't be relegated to serving staff."

"Justin, calm down." Sky told him. "We literally just got here."

"All right, fine." Justin calmed himself. "There's just nothing as ridiculously unsexy as a waiting uniform."

"Look, let me just figure out what we're looking for." Sky instructed.

Sky pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket and looked at it closer to see a drawing of a frilly dress with a belt that had an emblem resembling the sun as a buckle.

"This shouldn't be too hard to find." Sky speculated.

"Ay! You two deaf! Get out there and wait tables!" The same waiter as before ordered them.

"All right already, we're going." Justin told the waiter. "Jeez."

Meanwhile, Leshawna and Tom awoke in the virtual world, wearing formal clothing, leaning over the railing looking down at the ballroom area Dave and Rodney were at the bar of earlier.

"All right, this ain't a bad start." Leshawna commented. "C'mon Tom, let's…"

Leshawna stopped when she saw Tom staring straight down at the crowd with his mouth open and a starstruck look in his eyes.

"So much fashion…" Tom trailed off. "Must blog…"

"Tom!" Leshawna yelled. "Challenge, remember."

"Oh, right." Tom replied. "So, like, we need to steal something, right?"

"Yeah, something like that." Leshawna responded as she felt around her dress before pulling out a slip of paper.

Leshawna unfolded the paper and saw a drawing of a pair of elbow-length gloves with a black vine-like pattern on it.

"Hmm… This shouldn't be too hard." Leshawna remarked. "C'mon, let's go look around. Chris said he'd put us near what we need so let's go look around this area."

"Ooh, I just gotta look at some of the outfits while we do that." Tom said.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Leshawna)**

"I didn't _hate_ Tom or anything." Leshawna told the audience. "But I dunno, he just ain't the type of person I usually hang with. Fashion ain't ever been my thing."

* * *

Meanwhile, Anne Maria and Jen were wandering through the halls of the palace-like building with various other well-dressed people going either way around them.

"All right we got in easy, now what?" Jen asked.

"Well, we gotta find where this funny lookin' hat is." Anne Maria replied. "That's step one… 'Course, I don't know how I'm 'sposed to do that."

"Hmmm… I think I have an idea." Jen remarked.

Jen walked up to a balding man in a suit.

"Excuse me, can you like, help us out?" Jen asked the man.

"Make it quick, lady. I'm very busy." The man grumpily replied.

"So, I'm trying to find this model my friend has a _total_ crush on." Jen explained.

"What, no I- Uh, I mean, yeah." Anne Maria lied.

"Anyway, we don't know where to find them." Jen went on. "But we heard they were like, wearing a cool hat with a flower on it."

"Hmm… Flower hat…" The man pondered. "You must mean Dana Jansen, you just missed him on the catwalk. You might be able to catch him in the VIP area of this place. Then there's always backstage… But something tells me neither of you has clearance for those. Now if you'll excuse me…"

The stranger continues on past the two girls.

"I think that guy kinda hated us." Anne Maria noted.

"Well, I did get us the info we needed." Jen pointed out.

"True." Anne Maria admitted. "Now we just need some way into either that VIP joint or backstage."

"Eh, we're already stealing a hat so it's not that big a deal." Jen remarked.

Meanwhile, Rodney and Dave wandered through the well-decorated halls of the building, heads looking around.

"All right, keep an eye out for a jacket covered in gemstones." Dave reminded Rodney.

"That shouldn't be hard to spot." Rodney replied. "Hey, does it look like something a pretty lady would wear?"

"Uh… I couldn't tell." Dave admitted. "But that's beside the point. We need to find it first so we can take it."

"Hey, you said it was a coat covered in jewels, right?" Rodney asked.

"Yeah." Dave replied. "Do you see it already?"

"Uh… Well, yeah." Rodney told him, pointing to his left.

Dave looked to where he was being directed and saw a young man with slicked back hair wearing a coat matching the drawing signing autographs for a group of young women.

"Wow, that thing looks ugly when you actually see it on a person." Dave commented.

"What are we waiting for?" Rodney asked. "Let's go talk to this guy."

Dave nodded before approaching the model with Rodney.

"Excuse me. Can we talk for a moment?" Dave asked.

"Out of my way, kid. I've just finished my designated autograph signing." The model stated. "Now I have a photo shoot to attend to. Go fight with one of my fangirls if you want a signed photo."

The model walked away down the hall.

"Well, now I don't feel bad for what we're about to do." Dave quietly remarked.

"I can give you a signed photo." One of the women the model signed for offered, holding up said picture.

"Hi… Uh, sure…" Rodney trailed off, taking the photo.

"Might as well have another reference for what we're looking for." Dave agreed.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Dave)**

"Choosing Rodney was a mistake." Dave admitted. "I really should've let Anne Maria put up with him instead."

* * *

Meanwhile, Cameron and Jo wandered around the ballroom near the bar.

"Remember, look at everyone's feet, Cam." Jo told him.

"I am." Cameron replied. "But I'm not seeing anything yet."

"Well, in that case, keep looking." Jo said. "We have to find it soon."

Both of them glanced down at the ground, taking note of what shoes the guests were wearing. In their distractedness, both of them bumped into a red haired woman in a puffy dress.

"Hey! Watch it, you klutz!" The woman exclaimed.

"Listen, lady, it was an accident." Jo told her.

"What? 'Lady'? Do you even know who I am?" The woman asked.

"Well, no." Cameron stated.

"I'm Lenora Hemlock, possibly the most important person of this decade." The woman stated. "And you nearly ruined my _beautiful_ dress."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jo)**

"Really hope Chris didn't base any of these models off of real people." Jo commented. "'Cause otherwise, he just made a _quite_ few enemies."

* * *

"Look, can't you just let this thing…" Jo began before trailing off once she noticed the woman they were talking too was wearing the shoes she was looking for.

"Excuse me, what are you gawking at now?" Lenora asked.

"Where'd you get those shoes?" Jo asked.

"I don't have time to answer your silly questions." Lenora replied. "I have to get to the catwalk before they call my name."

Lenora walked past Cameron and Jo.

"Should we follow her?" Cameron asked.

"No, we should just let our target get away." Jo sarcastically told him. "Yes, of course, we should follow her! C'mon, let's go!"

Meanwhile, Justin and Sky were walking through the ballroom with plates of food in their arms.

"This is so humiliating; I'd never be caught dead as a waiter." Justin remarked. "Or dressed like this."

"Please stop complaining." Sky told him. "We need to keep an eye out for that dress."

A portly bearded man in a tuxedo approached the duo.

"Excuse me, young Miss, but I'd like some deviled eggs." The man requested of Sky.

"Sure, they're all yours." Sky told him, holding up her plate.

The man began grabbing eggs from the plate.

"Wait, Sky, what does that dress look like?" Justin asked. "I can't remember."

"Me neither." Sky admitted. "All I remember is that there's a sun on it somewhere."

"Oh, I know just the dress." The man Sky was serving replied through a mouthful of deviled egg. "It's on display upstairs. Of course, _you_ can't see it until the show's over."

"Thanks for the reminded of our status…" Justin grumbled.

"Well, cheers. I'm off to the catwalk." The man stated before walking away.

"All right, looks like we have to get upstairs." Sky told Justin.

"Let's hope that comes with a change of clothes." Justin commented.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sky)**

"All right, I'll admit it, partnering with Justin was a mistake." Sky told the audience. "I don't know how his head hasn't imploded from all that ego."

* * *

Meanwhile, Leshawna and Tom were wandering through the mostly abandoned second floor which consisted of display cases and the very occasional guest of the event or security guard.

"Wow, the architecture on this place is simply awe inspiring." Tom remarked. "Don't you agree?"

"Yeah, sure." Leshawna replied. "I dunno, nineteenth century architecture ain't really my thing."

"Actually it looks more like eighteenth century." Tom corrected.

"Whatever." Leshawna said. "Just keep an eye out for those gloves."

"Right." Tom replied.

Leshawna and Tom walked through a set of double doors and into a room with several valuable looking artifacts like gems and swords in case. In the middle of the room a fashionable older woman in sunglasses, a red dress, and the gloves the duo was looking for was observing a display of an old cannon. Next to the woman was a bodyguard dressed in a black suit and sunglasses.

"Pstt, Leshawna, I think that girl's got the gloves we need." Tom whispered to Leshawna.

"I can see that." Leshawna told him. "All right, let's get out of here before she thinks we're acting suspicious."

"But if we leave then she might get away." Tom pointed out.

"Yeah, but that guy next to her looks tough." Leshawna argued. "C'mon, let's look around some more and see if there's a way to separate those two. If Harold taught me anything about how stealth video games work, there's always something convenient nearby."

Meanwhile, Jen and Anne Maria were approaching a door marked "VIP's Only" with a man in a black suit and sunglasses standing outside it.

"So what's the plan to get in here?" Jen whispered to Anne Maria.

"I dunno, I'll improvise somethin'." Anne Maria told her.

"That isn't really reassuring." Jen remarked.

"Excuse me, do you two have clearance to go back here?" The guard asked.

"Uh, know, but we're huge fans of… Uh, Danny Johnson." Anne Maria lied.

"Dana Jansen." Jen corrected.

"Whatever." Anne Maria told Jen before turning back to the guard. "And uh, we really wanna meet 'em in person."

"Yeah, that's not gonna cut it." The guard stated. "Move along please."

"Wait, uh, if you let us in you can go out on a date with my friend here." Anne Maria went on, pointing to Jen. "Whadda ya say?"

"Huh? What's that about a date?" Jen asked Anne Maria.

"Play along for God's sake..." Anne Maria whispered. "It ain't like you're gonna see him again.."

"Well… I am pretty lonely." The guard admitted. "I know a good restaurant nearby. Are you up to it?"

"Uh… Yeah, sure." Jen lied. "Will you let us in?"

"Of course, ma'am, right this way." The guard replied, opening up the door.

Jen and Anne Maria entered the room. Once inside they saw a buffet, comfy looking chairs, and several important looking people scattered throughout the room.

"Wow, I can't believe that worked." Jen remarked.

"Neither can I." Anne Maria admitted. "Now c'mon, keep an eye out for any fancy hats."

Anne Maria and Jen began wandering around the room, eyes scanning for what they're looking for. Jen's eyes fell on a thin man in heavy makeup wearing a pinstripe suit and tan pleated pants as well as the hat she was looking for.

"Oh my gosh, that's the guy we're looking for, Anne." Jen realized. "C'mon, let's go over to here."

The duo approached the man.

"S'cuse me, you Dane Johan?" Anne Maria asked.

"It's _Dana Jansen_." The model corrected. "Who are you?"

"We're your two biggest fans." Jen said.

"Really? You are?" Dana asked. "You want a photo with me or something?"

"Well, we really like that hat of yours." Anne Maria explained. "Mind if we take a closer look at it?"

"Ha, no way. This thing is more valuable than anything else in the room." Dana stated.

"All right… Here goes plan B…" Anne Maria muttered to herelf.

"What was that?" Dana asked. "Sounded like you said-"

Dana was cut off by Anne Maria kneeing him in the stomach and grabbing the hat off his head.

"Let's book it, Jenny!" Anne Maria ordered Jen.

Anne Maria and Jen ran over to an open window nearby and vaulted through it into a garden.

" _This_ is your plan B!" Jen exclaimed as they ran further into the garden.

"It's a work in progress, 'kay!" Anne Maria replied.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Anne Maria)**

"Yeah… That was a real boneheaded idea." Anne Maria admitted.

* * *

Meanwhile, Rodney and Dave were wandering through another part of the garden Anne Maria and Jen had just escaped into.

"All right, you see this guy yet?" Dave asked, looking down at the photograph of the model theey were following.

"Nope, not yet." Rodney stated. "He should be easy to spot though."

"I dunno, this is a big place." Dave pointed out.

"Oh, I see him." Rodney remarked, pointing nearby to the model from before having his photo taken by a woman.

"Huh, that was easier than I expected." Dave admitted. "C'mon, let's go."

Dave and Rodney approached the model.

"All right, you're doing just great." The photographer told the model, snapping a picture. "Okay, that should be enough for now."

The photographer walks away and the model turns around to see Dave and Rodney.

"What the- You two again?" The model asked. "Can't you go serve some drinks or something? I've got a phone call to make. So beat it."

The model walks past the two for them and turns behind the hedge.

"Psst, Dave, I have an idea." Rodney whispered to Dave.

"If it involves that photographer lady the answer is no." Dave told him.

"Oh… Well, I have another idea." Rodney said.

"Fine, I've got nothing so I'll try your thing." Dave remarked.

"Great, you go talk to him and I'll do the other stuff." Rodney stated.

Dave nodded before walking in the direction the model went. He saw the model talking on a cellphone.

"All right… Talk to you later." The model told whoever was on the other line before hanging up.

"Excuse me, I have a question." Dave said as he got in front of the model.

"Look kid, I've already told you twice, I'm a very busy man." The model said. "So whatever it is, the answer's no."

"It's just a small thing, really." Dave insisted.

"All right fine, I'll listen." The model decided. "But this means I don't have to tip you."

"Sure." Dave replied.

As they were talking, Rodney slowly approached the model from behind.

"So what exactly is it that you want to ask?" The model inquired

"How much is that coat you're wearing?" Dave asked.

"There's an old saying." The model began. "If you have to ask, it's too-"

The model was cut off by Rodney hitting him on the back of the head, knocking him out instantly.

"What the- Rodney! _That_ was your plan!" Dave yelled.

"Shh!" Rodney shushed his partner. "C'mon, take his jacket."

"R-right." Dave replied, slipping the jacket off of the model's unconscious body. "L-lets' get out of here before anybody realizes what we just did."

Rodney nodded and the two of them slowly began walking away from the area.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Dave)**

"Is it possible to feel guilty about hurting someone who doesn't actually exist?" Dave wondered.

* * *

Meanwhile, Cameron and Jo were walking through the halls well maintained of the building.

"Are you sure she went this way?" Cameron asked.

"I'm at least forty five percent sure." Jo stated. "Now c'mon, let's go."

They came to the end of the hallway to a door marked "Backstage" with a man in a black suit and sunglasses standing guard.

"Sorry, no authorized personal only." The guard denied them. "Go back to wherever you came from."

"Excuse me? _We_ are Ms. Hemlock's entourage and just came back with some very expensive figs she requested." Jo lied, sounding aggressive. "Now let us in."

"Oh, I- Oh course Miss." The guard replied, opening the door.

Jo and Cameron entered the room.

"Wow, that was pretty impressive." Cameron remarked.

"Y'see Cam, if you want to get anywhere in life, you gotta act like you've got authority." Jo told him. "Even if you don't actually hold any."

"Duly noted." Cameron replied.

"Now c'mon, we need to keep an eye out for those shoes." Jo reminded him. "Keep your eyes on the ground."

"Don't you think there's a more efficient strategy you could employ?" Cameron asked.

"Probably." Jo admitted. "But we're in a bit of a race against the clock here and thinking of a better one takes time. Now c'mon, let's look."

They walked for a few more moments until they saw the model they were looking for engaged in an argument with a stagehand.

"This is unbelievable!" Lenora shouted at the stagehand. "You got me milk chocolate instead of dark!"

"I-I'm sorry Ms. Hemlock but it's all they had." The n stagehand timidly apologized.

"That won't cut it." Lenora stated. "This is simply unacceptable! I will not come out of my dressing room until you get me the right chocolate!"

"B-but you go on in five minutes." The stagehand told her.

"Don't care." Lenora replied. "Now if you'll excuse me…"

Lenora walked down the hall further and entered a room marked "L. Hemlock".

"Well… I certainly don't feel bad about what we're going to do to her." Jo commented. "Let's get in there."

Jo and Cameron strolled down to the end of the hall.

"All right, Cam. Now use that info I told you earlier." Jo told Cameron. "I wanna see if you learned anything."

"What information?" Cameron asked. "Oh, right, about being more assertive."

"Bingo." Jo said. "Now go use it."

Cameron nodded before knocking on the dressing room door.

"Uh, Ms. Hemlock, we found that milk chocolate you were asking for." Cameron lied.

"You did?" Lenora asked from the other side. "Well that was quick. Come right in then and leave it on the table. But don't stick around too long, I don't want you polluting my airspace."

Cameron smiled and gave Jo a thumbs up.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jo)**

"Y'know Cam isn't as bad as I remember." Jo admitted. "It felt great to actually teach him something."

* * *

Jo and Cameron entered the dressing room where Lenora was sitting in a chair in front of a mirror, adjusting her hair.

"Maybe this show _won't_ lose its biggest asset after all." Lenora commented, looking over at the duo. "Hey, I don't see any chocolate. What gives?"

"Um… About that…" Cameron trailed off as he closed the door.

Jo quickly grabbed a small potted plant off a nearby table and threw it at Lenora. It hit her square in the face, shattering the pot and knocking the model out. Cameron quickly ran up to Lenora and checked her pulse.

"Phew, she's alive…" Cameron sighed.

"Great, great, whatever." Jo grumbled. "Can you please take her shoes? I'm worried someone might've heard us."

"Oh, right, of course." Cameron replied.

Cameron slipped the shoes off of Lenora's feet.

"All right, let's get away from here before someone comes to check up on this lady." Jo instructed Camer.

"Right." Cameron replied.

Meanwhile, Justin and Sky were climbing a flight of spiral stairs.

"Are we allowed to be doing this?" Justin asked.

"Relax, that door outside said 'Employees Only', and we're waiters." Sky told him.

"Ugh, don't remind me." Justin grumbled. "This has to be at least one of the top ten worst things I've gone through on this show."

"Don't be such a drama queen, we're almost at the top of the stairs." Sky said.

Sky opened the door at the top to reveal plenty of display cases full of outfits with only a few security guards patrolling.

"Here we go." Sky remarked. "If anyone asks what we're doing, tell them we're on a break. Okay?"

"Right." Justin replied. "Which of these are we supposed to take again?"

"It's got lots of frills and a sun on the belt." Sky reminded him.

"Oh, well, in that case, this might be easy." Justin replied, pointing to a display case at the far end of the room containing a mannequin wearing a dress that matched Sky's description.

"Well, that is fortunate." Sky remarked. "All right, let's go."

Sky and Justin approached the display case.

"Okay, so how are we supposed to get this thing out?" Justin asked.

"You know how to pick a lock?" Sky inquired.

"What do you think?" Justin sarcastically replied.

"All right, then I guess we'll have to break it down." Sky remarked.

"But that sounds so messy." Justin complained.

"Listen, I'm not hearing any better ideas from you." Sky pointed out.

"All right, the messy plan it is then." Justin said.

Sky looked side to side and saw that both guards were on the opposite side of the room, looking away.

"All right… Now." Sky said.

She grabbed a candelabra off a nearby table and used it to smash the glass. Justin quickly reached through the broken display case and ripped the costume straight off the model.

"You ripped it!" Sky realized.

"Who cares, we have it." Justin replied. "Let's get out of here now."

"Right, I think the guards might've heard us." Sky remarked.

Sky and just quickly scurried further into the rooms on the second floor.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sky)**

"Probably shouldn't have rushed through that thing…" Sky awkwardly remarked.

* * *

Elsewhere on the second floor, Tom and Leshawna were wandering around following the woman with the gloves and her bodyguard from a cautious distance.

"Do you say any way to distract that big rhinoceros following her around?" Tom asked.

"I'm keepin' both eyes peeled for anything." Leshawna replied. "Now, let's be quiet."

The woman and bodyguard entered another room and Leshawna stopped when she saw a grand piano.

"Uh, hello, they're getting away." Tom told Leshawna, stopping in his tracks as well.

"I just came up with a way to distract that guard of hers." Leshawna stated.

"And enlighten me on how we do that." Tom requested.

"See that thing holding up the piano lid?" Leshawna asked, pointing to the wooden rod keeping the lid to the grand piano up. "We've gotta push it."

"Are you sure about that?" Tom nervously asked.

"Look, it's the best chance we've gotten so far." Leshawna told him. "Let's go for it."

"All right, I'm with you." Tom agreed.

"Great. Let's be quick." Leshawna said before knocking over the bar holding up the lid.

The piano lid slammed shut, causing a loud noise in the process.

"Bruno! What was that?" The gloved woman asked from the other room.

"I'll go check on it, ma'am." The bodyguard replied.

"Get away from the piano." Leshawna instructed Tom. "Don't wanna look suspicious."

Tom and Leshawna stepped several feet away from the piano. The bodyguard entered the room and approached the grand piano.

"Huh, how old is this thing?" The bodyguard wondered.

While his back was turned, Tom and Leshawna snuck past him and entered the next room. Once inside they saw the gloved woman with her backed turned to them and looking at a display of antique dishes and silverware.

"My, oh my. What I wouldn't give to eat off of these." The woman remarked. "Such fine craftsmanship."

Tom and Leshawna slowly approached the woman from behind.

"Now what?" Tom quietely asked.

"I dunno, how 'bout you try something this time." Leshawna whispered back.

Tom nodded and got closer to the gloved woman. Once he was near, he grabbed her by the back of the head and slammed her into the display case, knocking her out.

"Whoa! What was that about!" Leshawna exclaimed.

"I panicked! It's all I could think of!" Tom frantically exclaimed. "Quick! Just get her gloves before that guard comes back."

Leshawna nodded and slipped the gloves off the unconscious woman.

"Hello? Anybody in here?" The bodyguard asked the door started to slowly open.

Taking the hint, Tom and Leshawna began fleeing further into the second floor of the building.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Leshawna)**

"I'm less surprised that Tom tried to knock that lady out and more surprised at the fact that he was _able to._ " Leshawna admitted. "Either she was real weak, Tom's secretly ripped, or that thing protecting the plates had some real strong glass. Maybe all three."

* * *

Meanwhile, Anne Maria and Jen were sprinting as quickly as they could through a hedge maze. Anne Maria tightly grasped the hat in her hands.

"Crap! Crap! Crap!" Anne Maria shouted as she ran. "They're gonna find us!"

"Stop panicking!" Jen screamed. "It's making me panic! Do you even know if they're still chasing us?!"

"I don't!" Anne Maria admitted. "But I ain't waitin' 'round to find out!"

Just then, Jen and Anne Maria turned a corner and ran directly into Dave and Rodney. Both parties were knocked to the ground.

"Hey! Watch where- Huh? What're you two doing here?" Dave realized who he slammed into, rubbing his head in pain.

"We could ask you the same thing, bud." Anne Maria replied, standing up.

"Girls…" Rodney muttered in a daze.

"Rodney! Focus!" Dave shouted at him as he got up.

"Huh? Oh sorry." Rodney apologized.

"Hey, so we're obviously running from the security here, right?" Jen asked as she grabbed Anne Maria's hand to pull herself up from the ground. "Maybe we could help each other out?"

"Are you kidding?" Dave asked. "It's better one of us goes down than both of us do."

"I dunno… I trust them…." Rodney said, still sounding dazed.

"Of course _you_ do." Dave remarked. "Yeah, no way. We're out of here."

"Hey! I think I hear talking!" A voice exclaimed from out of view. "C'mon boys! I think that's them!"

"You have got to be kidding me…" Anne Maria trailed off.

The foursome heard footsteps approaching from the direction Dave and Rodney came.

"You know what, I changed my mind." Dave decided. "We're coming with you now."

Anne Maria and Jen turned around and began running through the maze again, Rodney and Dave quickly followed.

"For the record, I'm only doing this because I literally have no other choice." Dave stated as he ran.

"Sorry! Can't hear you over all the panicking I'm doing!" Anne Maria exclaimed.

"I don't think we're gonna make it…" Jen nervously remarked as they ran.

"Ah, c'mon, be optimistic." Rodney said.

The quartet turned a corner only to find themselves face to face with a group of security guards,.

"There they are!" One the guards exclaimed.

"Dammit!" Anne Maria shouted. "Turn back around!"

The group quickly turned around only to see that another group of guards had gotten there.

"All right surrender now!" One of the guards announced. "Hands in the air where we can see them! I won't hesitate to use my Taser!"

The four of them complied and put their hands up in their air, dropping the items they stole.

"This is not how I saw this going…" Dave remarked.

Meanwhile, Tom and Leshawna were briskly walking through the halls of the upstairs part of the building with the latter holding the gloves.

"This is it, we're so busted…" Tom panicked as he walked.

"Can ya stop that?" Leshawna asked. "They haven't found us yet."

"Yeah, but chances are they probably will." Tom pointed out. "C'mon, can't we just run? Or can you, at the very least, hide those gloves."

"Can't run, too suspicious." Leshawna told him. "Hmm… But you might be right 'bout that second one."

Leshawna quickly tucked the gloves into her dress.

"All right, let's keep movin'." Leshawna said.

They turned a corner only to come face to face with Sky and Justin with the dress they stole draped over the former's shoulder.

"Huh? You two are also up here?" Sky asked.

"Out of our way." Justin requested. "We need to make sure nobody finds us."

"Hey, we're in the same boat here." Tom pointed out.

"Yeah, don't bother us and we won't bother you." Leshawna added.

"Or…" Sky trailed off before looking behind her. "Hey, guards! Get over here!"

"Shh! What are you doing?" Justin tried to hush his partner.

"We found two thieves!" Sky kept yelling. "They, uh, they stole that big dress! But we took it from them! C'mon! They might have some other stuff too!"

"Leshawna, let's start running." Tom told Leshawna.

"Right." Leshawna agreed.

Leshawna and Tom quickly turned around back the way they came and began running.

Two security guards turned the corner.

"All right, where'd they go?" One of the guards asked.

"That way!" Sky declared, pointing to where the other two ran off to.

"Don't worry, we'll turn this dress in to the proper authorities." Justin told them.

"All right, move out!" The guard told his partner.

The duo of guards ran off after their suspects.

"Phew, close one, eh?" Justin remarked. "Good thinking there."

"Thanks." Sky replied. "Now let's get out of this place."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sky)**

"Was sending the guards after those two a dirty move?" Sky rhetorically asked. "Yeah, it definitely was. But it's the final five. I've gotta do everything I can to keep in the game."

* * *

Meanwhile, Cameron and Jo were walking down a hall in the building. The shoes were nowhere to be seen.

"So why are you wearing the shoes again?" Cameron asked.

"Because carrying them around would look too conspicuous." Jo replied. "Plus my dress hides them for anyone who might be looking down. That's the first thing it's come in handy for."

"All right makes sense." Cameron said. "Let's get out of here. This is the most stressful thing I've done in a while."

"Well, you're holding together pretty well in that case." Jo told him. "I was expecting you to faint at some point."

"I've gotten a lot better since the first time I was on here." Cameron replied.

"Trust me, I remember what you were like when you started out." Jo said.

Just then a security guard turned the corner and approached the duo.

"Excuse me, I need to ask you some questions." The guard told them.

"Uh oh…" Jo trailed off to herself before looking up at the guard and raising her voice. "Um, what is it you need from us?"

"One of our models, Lenora Hemlock, was found unconscious without her shoes." The guard explained. "She hasn't come to yet but we're looking for any information we can and one of our other guards says you work for her."

"Oh uh, yeah, we got her some, uh, chocolate." Cameron lied.

"Do you know anything about who may have attacked her?" The guard asked.

"Uh, yeah, maybe." Jo lied. "We saw these two suspicious characters. There was this big tall beefy guy with red hair and this shorter scrawnier guy with him."

"Hmm, we just arrested those two for an unrelated assault and theft." The guard commented. "Well, that takes care of things. Thank you."

The guard turned around and walked away from the two of them.

"Ah, crisis averted." Cameron said.

"Let's get out of this place before anything else happens." Jo told Cameron.

"Agreed." Cameron replied. "We should definitely go now."

Cameron and Jo continued walking down the hall.

"All right, looks like we should be getting out here without any snags along the way." Jo remarked. "I'm real proud of myself."

The duo passed a staircase and saw Sky and Justin descending from it.

"Hey, aren't we supposed to be against those guys?" Cameron asked.

"Don't worry, me and Sky are in an alliance." Jo told him. "We should be fine."

Sky and Justin approached Jo and Cameron.

"Oh hey guys." Sky greeted. "What's going on?"

"We're just on our way out." Jo explained. "What about you?"

"Huh, funny coincidence, we're doing the same." Sky told her.

"Well… Only one of us can really win the challenge then." Jo replied. "And I did see a guard go by…"

There was a long pause as the other three looked around.

"I'm just messin' with you." Jo told them. "I wouldn't sell you out. But seriously, we need to run. But have fun seeing if you can beat us."

"Wait, you're really going to run?" Justin asked.

"Yep." Jo replied before turning to Cameron. "C'mon Cam, let's move out."

"Huh?" Cameron asked. "All right."

Cameron and Jo began running past Sky and Justin and down the hall.

"Hey, do we have to follow them?" Justin asked. "Because my legs are kind of tired."

"Of course we have to follow them." Sky told him. "Let's go!"

Justin sighed before running down the hall with Sky after the opposing duo.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Jo)**

"Doesn't surprise me that Sky did so good in this challenge. _I_ taught her very well." Jo bragged.

* * *

The scene focused on Jo and Cameron rushing through the halls past various guests of the fashion show.

"S'cuse me, emergency here. We need to get out." Jo said as she pushed through several civilians.

"Uh, yeah, what she said." Cameron went along with his partner's plan.

A guard stepped out in front of the two of them causing the duo to stop.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. What do you two think you're doing?" The guard asked.

"Uh, running." Jo stated. "You stupid or something?"

"Okay, but _why_ were you running?" The guard pressed on.

"That is a great question…" Jo trailed off, nervously looking around.

"Uh… Yeah, great question…" Cameron stalled.

Before either of them could come up with an answer, Sky and Justin rushed past the duo and the guard.

"What the- Those two with you?" The guard asked.

Neither member of the duo responded and they began running.

"Dammit! I am having the worst day ever right now!" The guard exclaimed.

The camera panned forward to the contestants and their helpers running near each other.

"Wow, you're really fast, Jo…" Cameron panted. "I think I'm falling behind."

"Oh for crying out loud…" Jo grumbled.

Jo grabbed Cameron by the wrist, pulled him into her arms, and continued running.

"Wow, I am really light." Cameron realized.

"Hey Sky, think you could carry me?" Justin asked, sounded tired.

"Yeah, no." Sky declined as they kept running. "I don't want to be crushed."

"Fair enough." Justin admitted.

"All right! All four of you stop!" A guard ordered as he chased after the contestants. "More guards are on the way y'know!"

"All the more reason to keep running!" Jo replied, speeding up.

"Dammit! You're right!" The guard realized.

The for contestants exited the building through the front doors.

"Hey, I think we might be in the clear." Cameron remarked.

Two guards ran out from the building and gained on both duos.

"Seriously! Freeze!" One of the guards demanded.

"Not happening!" Jo shouted back.

One of the guards jumped at Jo and Cameron, tackling them and pinning them to the ground.

"I got them!" The guard cheered.

The second guard pounced and landed on top his partner.

"Yeah! I got 'em too!" The second guard cheered.

"You idiot! You're supposed to get the other two!" The first guard ordered.

"Oh…" The second guard realized.

Justin and Sky ran out through the front gates.

"We made it!" Sky cheered.

"Thank god…" Justin sighed. "I am never doing this again."

Both contestants began glowing blue and were quickly absorbed by a bright light.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sky)**

"I'm pretty surprised I was able to win." Sky admitted. "Especially with my subpar help… Oh, uh, sorry Justin."

* * *

Back in the real world, the contestants awoke from the machine, removed the helmets from their heads, and stood up.

"And welcome back, with Sky as the winner!" Chris announced. "How was the challenge?"

"I never considered being a criminal before, but I _definitely_ will never consider it now." Dave stated.

"Just what I like to hear." Chris replied.

"Question: Can we all go home now?" Tom asked, gesturing to the other guests. "Because this has literally been the most stressful day of my life."

"Yeah, same. I wanna go home." Jen agreed.

Rodney nodded in agreement.

"I actually had a moderately decent time." Cameron commented.

"Well, you all can't leave yet." Chris told them. "You all can hang out in the intern's quarters until it's time to leave. Everyone else, Chef has prepared a delicious meal for you."

"By this point, I just assume that 'Delicious' is code for passable." Leshawna remarked.

"That's a correct assessment." Chris admitted. "Anyway, have fun thinking about who you'd like to boot."

The scene cut to the contestants eating dinner in the mess hall with Jo and Sky at a table on one end of the room with the other three sitting at the other side. The camera focused on the latter table.

"All right, so Y'all remember the plan, right?" Leshawna asked.

"Yep, we're votin' off Jo." Anne Maria replied.

"You guys sure we can't vote for Sky instead?" Dave asked.

"Man, what's with you and your crazy grudge against that chick?" Anne Maria asked. "She don't seem that bad."

"You two don't know her like I do." Dave stated. "Trust me."

"We ain't changin' plans." Anne Maria stated. "Besides, Jo looks like she's the bigger threat."

"You're a bad judge of character. Sky made it to the finale last time and if we don't stop her now she'll do it again." Dave stated.

"Uh, Dave, you realized Sky _won_ right." Leshawna pointed out. "As in, we ain't able to vote her out. At all."

"Oh uh… I…" Dave trailed off awkwardly. "Well, I feel silly."

"All right, so Jo it is then." Leshawna said.

"Yep." Anne Maria confirmed.

"Guess so." Dave agreed.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Leshawna)**

"Ain't too keen on being allied with Dave." Leshawna admitted. "He's not the worst, but I can't see myself hangin' out with him after the show. He's a bit… Weird."

* * *

The camera focused on Jo and Sky at the other table.

"Look at them…" Jo snarled, glaring at the other table. "Plotting against me."

"Jo, I think you _might_ just be a little paranoid." Sky told her.

"I'm not paranoid." Jo stated. "Do the math, Sky. Three of them are gathered there, there are two of us here. You have immunity. Who do you think they'll vote for? I'll give you a hint: It's me."

"That's not a hint. That's just telling me." Sky pointed out.

"You're missing the point." Jo said. "I'm about to be booted. I might as well start packing my things."

"Hmm… Maybe I can talk one of them into voting with us instead?" Sky suggested.

"Could work." Jo remarked. "But who'd you try to persuade?"

"Maybe Anne Maria." Sky suggested. "Something tells me she'd be easy to convince."

"All right, you try it." Jo replied. "Since I'm a big target I'd rather not dig myself into this pit any deeper."

"Deal." Sky said.

Later, Anne Maria was walking back towards the trailers by herself.

"Blech, gotta wash out whatever Chef just fed me." Anne Maria remarked. "Tastes like something I'd feed a cat."

"S'cuse me, Anne, can we talk?" A female voice asked from out of view.

Anne Maria turned around to see Sky.

"The hell do you want from me?" Anne Maria questioned.

"So me and Jo know you and the others are planning against us." Sky explained. "But, I thought I could convince you to not vote for Jo."

"I got plenty of good reasons to get her outta the game." Anne Maria stated. "She's rude, more athletic than me, and she's got a real questionable taste in clothes."

"Look, let me just give you a warning." Sky told her. "You can't trust Dave. He'll turn on you when it's convenient to him."

"Why should I believe you?" Anne Maria asked.

"I kinda dated him in our last season. I know him better than anyone else." Sky explained. "You don't have to listen to me, I just want you to hear."

"Yeah, whatever." Anne Maria replied. "I'm goin' now."

Anne Maria began walking away.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sky)**

"Hopefully, that's enough for the seeds of doubt to be planted." Sky remarked. "Wow… That made me sound really evil. Note to self: Don't talk like that again."

* * *

Later, the contestants had gathered in front of the stage as Chris walked up on to it.

"Hello everyone!" Chris announced. "Was dinner passable today?"

"Eh, I guess so." Leshawna replied.

"How delightful." Chris said. "All right, enough standing out. Get into that makeup room and vote. I've got lots of things to do once we kick one of you off."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Leshawna)**

Leshwana held up a photograph of Jo to the camera.

"You're the second least likeable person I've ever met, right after Heather." Leshawna stated. "Ain't gonna miss ya all that much."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Dave)**

Dave scribbled an X over a picture of Jo and showed it to the audience.

"As much as I'd like to vote for Sky, I'll settle for this too." Dave stated. "I don't really like Jo all that much so I'll be happy."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Jo)**

Jo drew an X over a photo of Dave.

"Not gonna miss you." Jo remarked. "Sky had better have worked her magic."

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Sky)**

Sky held up a drawn over photograph of Dave.

"Somehow, I feel like my relationship with Dave has gotten worse." Sky told the camera.

* * *

 **(Voting Confessional: Anne Maria)**

"Y'know, I keep thinkin' 'bout what Sky said." Anne Maria said. "Dave's a bit of a weirdo… Should I trust Sky? Hmm… Lemme think."

* * *

The scene changed to Chris getting back up on the stage after the votes were cast.

"All right, the votes have been calculated." Chris stated "Leshawna, Sky, and Anne Maria. You all are safe."

Chef tossed the three mentioned contestants Chris statues.

"Dave, Jo, one of you has to go." Chris stated. "This very last Gilded Chris award goes out to…"

…

…

…

…

…

…

"…. Dave!"

Chef threw the lone Gilded Chris Award to Dave.

"Ha! Yes!" Dave cheered, catching it. "Safe again."

"Dammit!" Jo exclaimed.

"Heh, sorry Jo. I guess our plan didn't work." Sky told her.

"Eh, it's all right." Jo accepted her loss. "Something like this was bound to happen to one of us at some point. I think I'll actually miss you a bit."

"Me too." Sky said.

"Jo, please proceed to the Lame-O-Sine." Chris instructed. "Sayonara."

Jo glared at the other three contestants for a few more moments before standing up and walking down the red carpet. She reached the limousine and entered only to see Cameron sitting in there.

"Huh? What're you doing?" Jo asked as she sat down.

"Since we were paired up Chris wanted us to leave together." Cameron explained.

"Y'know what, considering the alternatives, I'll take it." Jo stated. "Where do you wanna go?"

"I've never tried 'Fast Food'. Can we get some?" Cameron asked.

"You still haven't?" Jo remarked in surprise. "All right, there's gotta be a twenty four hour burger joint around here somewhere."

The scene changed to the outside of the car as it drove away. Chris walked over to the edge of the red carpet.

"And thus, five become four." Chris told the audience. "How will Sky fare on her own and which of our contestants will fall next? Find out next time, on Total. Drama. Winners!"

* * *

 **Votes:**

Anne Maria - Jo

Dave - Jo

Jo - Dave

Leshawna - Jo

Sky - Dave

 **Results:**

Jo - 3 Votes

Dave - 2 Votes

 **Eliminated:**

Mike, the Nice Guy (18th Place)

Max, the Super Villain (17th Place)

Lindsay, the Dumb Princess (16th Place)

Geoff, the Funnest Guy Around (15th Place)

Sugar, the Pageant Queen (14th Place)

Jasmine, the Outback Survivalist (13th Place)

Owen, the Party Animal (12th Place)

Zoey, the Indie Chick (11th Place)

Beth, the Wannabe (10th Place)

Shawn, the Conspiracy Theorist (9th place)

Harold, the Dweeb (8th Place)

Scott, the Schemer (7th Place)

Lightning, the Athletic Overachiever (6th Place)

Jo, the Jockette (5th Place)

* * *

 **You know, this chapter ended up being longer than I expected. Wonder what that was about. Also, I just want to disclose that I was kind of cheating with this challenge. I saw the first quarter of The Italian Job and got bored before putting in another movie. That's my entire experience with heist films. This challenge was actually based on the Paris level in the newest Hitman video game (Except with theft instead of assassination). This is probably going to be the only video game inspired challenge though. Anyway, please leave a review if you want to share your opinion on my story. Thanks for reading.**


	19. Raiders of the Lost Simulation

**Wow, this took longer to write than I thought. I guess I've just been really busy. Anyway, it's time for the penultimate chapter (Man, I just love saying penultimate, it's a fun word). I really don't have all that much to say so instead here's just my response to the reviews:**

 **EliteBlitzz:** Interesting predictions. I, of course, can't say how accurate they are. But you'll find out for yourself at the end of this chapter I guess.

 **Nicky Haugh:** Thanks.

 **SideshowJazz1:** You know, now that you said it I wish I chose Amy as a helper in the last chapter instead of Rodney.

 **JOHNHAMMOND1993 (Guest):** I'm actually using one of those three movies you suggested for this chapter. And you can probably tell from the title which one it is.

 **Acosta Perez Jose** **Ramiro:** Thanks for the review.

 **Mattafat:** I know I already answered this in a PM, but just to reiterate, I'm purposely non-specific about who the actual winners are (Or at least I try to be). So it's up to your own preference on who won.

 **Silentsinger984:** I can't think of anything to say but thanks for reviewing.

 **All right, that's all the reviews. So anyway, now that we're done, we can move on to the actual chapter.**

* * *

Last time, on Total Drama Winners. We sent our remaining contestants to pull the heist of the century with the help of some guests." Footage of Tom and Leshawna sneaking through the above floors of the fashion show played. "Some did better than others." A clip of Anne Maria and Jen fleeing from a group of guards played next. "In the end, however, Sky managed to pull off a win." A clip of Sky and Justin running out of the gates was shown. "Y'know I would've thought she'd have won more by this point. Speaking of Sky, the other contestants united and voted out her alliance member: Jo." A clip of Cameron and Jo driving off in the limousine played.

The footage switched to Chris standing outside the trailers.

"So, with all alliances pretty much dissolved, how will our final four fare?" Chris asked. "Well, let me tell you, you're about to find out on, Total. Drama. Winners!"

* * *

 **(Theme Song)**

* * *

The camera faded in on the outside of the mess hall. Within the mess hall, Anne Maria and Leshawna sat at one table while Dave and Sky sat at two other separate tables. The camera focused on Anne Maria and Leshawna eating together.

"Y'know, Leshawna, I've been thinkin', you seem like a nice enough gal." Anne Maria began. "And we made a pretty good team when we voted off Jo."

"I think I see what you're tryin' to get at." Leshawna replied. "You want us to team up."

"Exactly." Anne Maria replied. "Whatta you say? It could work."

"Well, I do wanna be in the finale. And there are only three people left… Yeah, I don't mind teamin' up with you." Leshawna said. "Dave ain't gonna be in this, is he?"

"Oh, no, of course not." Anne Maria replied. "He ain't the worst guy in the world, but he sure ain't the best either."

"Good." Leshawna said. "Y'know I ain't really sure how he got this far. Heck, I ain't even sure how _you_ got this far. Oh, no offence."

"Oh, none taken." Anne Maria responded. "I ain't sure how I did it either."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Anne Maria)**

"Seriously, how the heck am I in the _final four_?" Anne Maria asked. "I ain't the most capable person here, that's for sure. It's gotta be snowing in hell right now."

* * *

The camera moved over to Dave eating by himself.

"Yuck… How can Chef make oatmeal even worse than it already is?" Dave pondered.

Dave looked at the empty table.

"I wish I had someone to talk to." Dave remarked.

Just then, Sky walked over to the table.

"Dammit…" Dave whispered to himself.

"Hey, can I sit here?" Sky asked. "It's lonely over at the other table."

"Uh, yeah, sure." Dave replied.

Sky put her tray on the table and sat across from Dave.

"So… What do you want to talk about?" Dave asked.

"What's it like to have the whole trailer to yourself?" Sky questioned.

"Eh… It's all right." Dave said.

The duo ate a few bites of their meal in silence.

"Is this awkward? I feel like it's awkward." Sky remarked.

"Yeah, it definitely is." Dave agreed. "Maybe we should talk about something else. How about our relationship?"

"We are absolutely not doing that." Sky declined. "Every single time we do it gets about ten times worse."

"Yeah… That's true." Dave admitted. "Part of me just wishes things could get better."

"I wish it could get better too." Sky told him. "But if you're going to be so… Stubborn, about not taking _any_ blame then I'm not sure it'll work out."

"Well, the same to you too." Dave replied, getting slightly angrier.

"L-look, it's just eat on our own again." Sky advised. "We've only talked for what, half a minute? And somehow things have gotten worse again."

"Good idea." Dave decided, standing up and taking his tray. "I'll find somewhere else to sit."

Dave walked away from the table.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sky)**

"I don't want Dave to be my enemy forever or anything like that." Sky told the camera. "But… I dunno, it just seems like that's the way things are shaping up to be. I wish I could change it, I really do."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Dave)**

"I want things with Sky to be normal." Dave told the camera. "We don't even have to be friends, just… Not enemies. That's all I want."

* * *

The camera cut to a close up of the film lot's loudspeakers.

"Hello, final four!" Chris cheered through the speaker system. "I don't wanna keep you all waiting around for too long, so let's get down to studio eight and get this challenge rolling. Let's go!"

The scene quickly changed over to the final four arriving in studio eight where Chris and Chef were already waiting.

"Ah, welcome." Chris greeted. "How was breakfast."

"Could be worse." Sky replied.

"Dammit, that's not miserable enough…" Chris told himself before looking back up. "Uh, anyway, time for our final four challenge. I bet you're wondering what that is."

"Yeah, we kinda are." Anne Maria said.

"Excellent." Chris replied. "How many of you are familiar with Indiana Jones?"

All four contestants raised their hands.

"Oh thank god, I'm not _that_ old after all." Chris remarked to himself before turning his attention back to the contestants. "Well, we're having a challenge based on that. The four of you will become treasure hunters infiltrating an ancient ruin to take a treasure from deep within. There's one treasure for each of you. Oh, and as an added twist, the last two people out of the temple with their treasure, are eliminated."

"Wait, what?" Dave asked. "You realize this gives Sky a _huge_ advantage. She has the body of an Olympic gymnast and the rest of us are below average at best."

"I'll take that as a compliment." Sky remarked.

"Look, it's too late to change challenges." Chris said. "I'm sure it won't be as biased as you think it'll be."

"We'll see." Dave added.

"Alll right, enough standin' around. Get in that machine." Chef ordered them.

"Wow, this is all movin' pretty quick." Leshawna observed.

"Look, I'm a busy guy with things to do." Chris replied. "Now let's start this game!"

The final four sat down in the chairs and up the helmets over their heads.

"Have fun." Chef told them before pressing a few buttons.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Leshawna)**

"Dave actually had a point." Leshawna told the camera. "Sky got herself a big advantage. Look at me. This ain't the body of an athlete."

* * *

The four contestants awoke in the virtual world, finding themselves sitting around a table inside a crowded bar.

"Huh? Where are we?" Dave asked as he looked at his surroundings. "This doesn't look like an ancient temple or anything like that."

"Well, it'd probably be too easy if we started right outside the temple." Leshawna commented.

"I dunno 'bout you guys, but I'm outta here." Anne Maria stated as she stood up. "Gettin' a head start, y'know what I mean?"

Anne Maria walked away from the table.

"Well, I should probably do that too." Dave commented. "May the best man win."

"Dave, you're the only man left." Sky pointed out. "The rest of us are female."

"Exactly." Dave replied. "I want to win."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Dave)**

"I didn't plan for that to happen. I just said something and went with it, and I accidentally ended up sounding clever." Dave said.

* * *

Dave stood up and walked away from the table towards the exit. Leshawna and Sky quickly followed suit, standing up and moving towards the front doors of the bar.

Once Leshawna, Sky, and Dave stepped outside they saw they were in a small village with not many people in the street that appeared to be surrounded by a large jungle. Leshawna looked around and saw Anne Maria observing her surroundings.

"'Kay, just gotta find a way outta this town." Anne Maria remarked. "How hard could it be."

Leshawna approached Anne Maria.

"Yo, Annie, need any help?" Leshawna asked.

"Maybe. I ain't really got a plan here." Anne Maria admitted. "How 'bout you?"

"I kinda got one. Harold made me marathon all these Indiana Jones flicks after I got eliminated in season one." Leshawna explained. "We'll probably want a guide of some kind."

"All right, that's a good start." Anne Maria remarked.

"Actually, there'd probably be a guide in that bar we just left." Leshawna realized.

"Well quick, let's make ourselves a quick U-turn." Anne Maria replied.

Leshawn and Anne Maria began walking back towards the bar.

The camera panned over to Sky observing her surroundings.

"Hmm… What's the quickest way out of town?" Sky pondered.

She looked across the street and noticed a song reading "Jeep Rentals".

"All right, that sure seems useful." Sky remarked. "Here I go."

Sky walked up to the shop the sign was attached to and entered. The shop was mostly empty, the walls plastered with posters for tourist locations, and the only employee being a half asleep clerk behind a desk.

"Excuse me, can I get a ride, sir?" Sky asked.

"Hmmm? What's that?" The clerk asked, waking up.

"I'd like to rent one of your jeeps." Sky explained.

"Ah finally, a customer." The clerk remarked. "How long would you like to rent one of my vehicles for?"

"Maybe like…. A few hours." Sky replied. "I'm going to this old ruin to find some treasure."

"Oh dear… Every time I rent one of my cars out to one of you explorer types I almost never get it back." The clerk told her. "I'm sorry, I can't let you buy anything from me."

Just then, Dave into the store.

"Excuse me, I'm going to this old ruin." Dave began. "Could you-"

"No." The clerk bluntly stated. "Please get out."

"Huh, rude." Dave remarked. "Fine, I'll go find another way."

"Yeah, me too." Sky added.

Meanwhile, Anne Maria and Leshawna were back inside the bar, wandering around.

"See anyone who looks like a guide?" Anne Maria asked.

"Workin' on it." Leshawna replied.

The two of them glanced at the various corner of the bar.

"How 'bout that guy?" Anne Maria suggested, pointing to a one eyed man in a trench coat with a long beard sitting near the bartender.

"Nah, too sketchy." Leshawna told her. "Keep on lookin'."

The two of them walked around the bar a bit more.

"Hmm… What about him?" Anne Maria asked, pointing to a bald muscular man arm wrestling with another one of the bar's patrons.

"Nah, he looks like he'd double cross us as soon as we got to the treasure." Leshawna told her.

"All right, I'll keep looking." Anne Maria replied. "Hmm… How does she look?"

Anne Maria pointed to a short haired brunette woman wearing a beat up coat and dusty jeans.

"Hmm, looks like the tough as nails type we need in this challenge." Leshawna stated. "C'mon Anne, let's go talk to her."

Anne Maria nodded before the two of them approached the woman.

"Hey, ya mind, I'm tryin' to get some peace and quiet over here." The woman stated.

"You wouldn't happen to be interested in guiding us, would you?" Leshawna asked.

"Yeah, I work as a guide sometimes." The woman said. "You want my services?"

"Well, yeah." Anne Maria replied. "We're tryin' to find some old temple."

"Ah, I know just the place you're talkin' about." The woman commented. "Nobody's ever made it out alive… 'Cept the people who built it I assume. But anyway, I am always up for a challenge. All right, I'm in. How much you payin?"

"Uh…" Leshawna replied, fishing around in her pockets.

Leshawna pulled three one hundred dollar bills out of her pants pockets.

"This enough?" Leshawna asked.

"Deal." The woman said. "But I wanna cut of the treasure too."

"All right, that works. Glad Chris gave us enough money to pay for you." Anne Maria stated. "Now let's go We wanna get a head start."

"Got it." The woman replied. "By the way, my name's Wynona. Just so that we're on that basis."

"I'm Anne Maria and this is Leshawna." Anne Maria told her. "Now seriously, let's go."

The trio began walking out of the bar.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Leshawna)**

"Y'know, we did pretty good on the whole finding a guide thing." Leshawna remarked.

* * *

Meanwhile, Dave and Sky were walking through the streets together.

"Unbelievable, if we don't have a car how else are we going to get through this stupid jungle?" Dave complained. "I can't walk it, I'd get eaten alive."

"Can you _please_ stop complaining." Sky requested. "You're giving me a massive headache right now."

"All right, all right, fine." Dave replied. "I'm just real ticked off about that. How am I supposed to get out of this town now?"

"You can figure that out on your own." Sky told him. "I do not want to work with you right now."

"Hey, the feeling's mutual." Dave replied.

"Well can you at the very least do your complaining in a place where I don't have to hear it." Sky requested.

"You know what, I'll just stop complaining." Dave stated.

"S'cuse me, but I couldn't help overhear you little wallabies 'aven't got yourselves a way out of town." A heavily accented male voice asked from behind the duo.

"Why does that voice sound familiar?" Sky wondered as she turned around.

Dave and Sky both turned around fully to see a tanned middle aged man n dusty boots, tan shorts, a matching vest, and pith helmet standing behind them.

"I thought I could offer you lot some 'elp." The man explained. "Names Lance. Lance Diamond."

"W-wait a minute! You're that weird vaguely foreign hunter guy from the Jurassic Park challenge!" Sky realized. "Didn't you get eaten by raptors?"

"Bloody 'ell, what're you on about, mate?" Lance asked. "I'm standin' right 'ere."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sky)**

"The one good thing I can say about this guy's… Confusing, return. Is that he at least had a _slightly_ more consistent accent." Sky said. "But seriously, why was he back?"

* * *

 **(Confessional: Chris)**

"Yeah, I brought him back just because I felt like it." Chris explained. "I'm the host I can do these things."

Chris looked around the room.

"Wow, this is a really nice dressing room." Chris realized.

* * *

"So, you're offering to take one of us through the jungle?" Dave asked. "I'm trying to find some old temple."

"I know just the place. Lost me old mate in that wretched place and didn't even get the treasure." Lance stated. "But I'd be willing to take the two of you back in there. For a cut of the loot of course."

"Hold up. Did you say _both of us_?" Sky asked. "I'm not so sure that's the best idea."

"Listen, Sheila, there's safety in numbers. Besides, there ain't exactly many places in town where you can find someone like me." Lance argued. "I'll only 'elp if you both come with."

"All right, all right, fine." Dave reluctantly agreed.

"Fine, I guess I can put up with Dave." Sky added before looking directly at Lance. "How much do we have to pay you?"

"No need to pay. All I want is a cut of the treasure." Lance stated. "So, we 'ave a deal?"

"I guess so." Sky agreed.

"Yeah, sure." Dave said.

"Arright, let's get outta 'ere." Lance told them. "C'mon, I own a Jeep. Let's move."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Dave)**

"Man, that guy was weird." Dave commented. "I'm glad I missed him in the Jurassic Park challenge."

* * *

Meanwhile, Anne Maria and Leshawna were in the back of a Jeep being driven by their guide, Wynona.

"So, any plans to get past all the traps in this old ruin?" Wynona asked.

"Uh, not really." Anne Maria admitted.

"Well, we're pretty much dead then." Wynona remarked. "Nobody's been able to make it out of that temple with the treasure before."

"Well, you just gotta have some faith." Leshawna told her.

"I'm trying, but things are _not_ looking good." Wynona stated.

"Hey, by the way, how much longer is this drive?" Anne Maria asked.

"Shouldn't be too much longer actually." Wynona said.

"Well that sure is good." Leshawna commented.

"In fact… Here we are." Wynona remarked.

Their guide hit the brakes on the jeep causing them to stop in front of a large gorge with an ancient looking rope bridge being the only way to cross.

"Uh, this don't look like a temple." Anne Maria remarked. "You said we were almost there."

"No, you asked me how much longer the _drive_ was." Wynona said. "We have to _walk_ the rest of the way."

"Why didn't ya say that earlier?" Anne Maria asked.

"Dunno, I just like to mess with people sometimes." Wynona replied. "Now let's keep going."

"Y'know you could've been more clear on that." Leshawna pointed out.

"Oh, I know." Wynona said. "But I just like screwin' with your heads."

"Well it ain't funny." Anne Maria stated.

"C'mon, let's just keep going." Leshawna told the duo.

Anne Maria, Leshawna, and Wynona stepped out of the jeep and began to cross the rope bridge.

"Hey, is this thing safe?" Leshawna asked.

"Absolutely not." Wynona stated.

"Thanks for the comfort." Anne Maria sarcastically told her.

"Just try to be safe." Wynona stated.

"Easier said than done." Anne Maria replied.

"Relax Anne, this bridge looks like it's been here a long time." Leshawna told her. "We ain't gonna-"

Leshawna was cut off when she stepped on a particularly weak plank, breaking a hole in the bridge. She quickly put her foot back up.

"Break it…" Leshawna finished.

"I said _be careful_." Wynona reminded them. "Try to tread a bit lighter from now on."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Anne Maria)**

"Y'know I really didn't like that guide chick we ended up with." Anne Maria commented. "Good thing she wasn't real. Havin' to deal with her in the virtual world was enough."

* * *

Meanwhile, Dave and Sky were riding in the back of a jeep being driven by their guide, Lance.

"You lot enjoying yourselves?" Lance asked, looking back at his passengers.

"I think I swallowed some bugs…" Dave grumpily muttered. "Couldn't taste them but it felt weird."

"Just part of the experience, mate." Lance told him.

"Please keep your eyes on the road." Sky nervously requested. "Err… Keep them on the dirt pathway."

"Arright." Lance replied, looking back ahead of him.

Sky looked over at Dave.

"So… How are you?" Sky asked.

"Please don't talk to me." Dave requested. "I don't want anything between us to get worse."

"Neither do I." Sky stated. "But it won't get better if we just don't do anything about it."

"Well what would you suggested we do to make it better?" Dave asked.

Sky stared off in thought for a few moments.

"I don't know." Sky admitted. "But I want to fix it somehow."

"So do I." Dave said. "I just want an apology."

"Well, guess what, I want one too." Sky told him.

"L-let's just end this conversation before it gets worse." Dave suggested.

"Good idea." Sky agreed.

"Man, you two 'ave got some serious problem." Lance remarked.

"Can you please just focus on driving?" Sky requested.

"Aye aye, cap'n." Lance replied.

After a few more moments, Lance stopped the car once they were in front of a large gorge.

"Um… What's this?" Dave asked.

"Ah, dammit, where's the bloody bridge?" Lance angrily asked himself. "I thought there was s'posed to be a bridge 'ere. One moment."

Lance took a map out of his glove compartment.

"I'm starting to think following this guy was a mistake." Dave whispered to Sky.

"Me too." Sky whispered back.

"Arright, looks like I'm _way_ to the right of the bridge." Lance remarked. "So we're gonna 'ave to take the long way around."

"Great…" Sky sarcastically remarked.

Lance began backing up the jeep.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sky)**

"Okay, following that weird Lance guy was definitely not a good idea." Sky admitted. "I wonder if the other two had better luck than me and Dave."

* * *

Meanwhile, Anne Maria, Leshawna, and Wynona were walking along a barely visible dirt path somewhere deep in the jungle.

"We goin' the right way?" Anne Maria asked.

"Don't worry cookie, I know what I'm doing." Wynona replied. "This ain't my first rodeo."

"Did ya just call me 'Cookie'? What the heck was that about?" Anne Maria questioned.

"Yeah, that was weird." Leshawna agreed.

"Y'know, I have no idea why I said that." Wynona admitted. "Let's just forget that ever happened and keep on looking for the temple. It's gotta be around here somewhere."

"It'd better be. I hate this freakin' jungle." Anne Maria complained. "I feel like everything's 'bout to kill me."

"Don't worry Anne, nothing bad's happened yet." Leshawna told her.

"Guess you're right." Anne Maria admitted. "That sure is a-"

Anne Maria was cut off when she stepped into a loop of rope that tightened around her foot and pulled her up. She was left dangling upside down from a tree the rope went up in to.

"… Relief." Anne Maria finished her sentence.

"What the hell is that?" Leshawna asked Wynona, pointing to the rope Anne Maria was tied up in.

"Definitely a trap. Probably set up by poachers." Wynona replied.

"Can ya get me down before they find me!" Anne Maria called down to their guide from the tree. "They're prob'ly gonna be real ticked off about this."

"Easy does it, princess. This won't be easy." Wynona said before turning to Leshawna. "Hey, you got yourself a knife or a gun?"

"No." Leshawna replied.

"Hmph, figures." Wynona remarked. "All right, I'll just have to use my own,"

"Wait, what was that you said 'bout a knife or gun?" Anne Maria nervously asked. "'Cause I don't wanna die."

"Relax kid, I know what I'm doing." Wynona stated. "Now, I know the blood rushing to your head is making you feel funny, but hold still if you don't want to get hurt."

"Again, ya ain't really that reassuring." Anne Maria pointed out.

Wynona ignored her and pulled a pistol out of her pocket.

"You know how to use that thing?" Leshawna asked.

"Eh, more or less." Wynona replied.

"What?!" Anne Maria exclaimed. "You've gotta be-"

Anne Maria was cut off when Wynona shot the rope holding her up. This caused Anne Maria to plummet to the ground.

"Kidding me…" Anne Maria finished her earlier sentence.

"All right, let's keep going." Wynona advised.

Wynona continued walking through the jungle.

"You okay?" Leshawna asked Anne Maria as she helped her up.

"Absolutely not…" Anne Maria weakly muttered. "Let's just hope this is the last of our excitement."

Anne Maria and Leshawna followed their guide deeper into the jungle.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Anne Maria)**

"I really can't stress enough how much I didn't like that chick." Anne Maria told the camera.

* * *

Meanwhile, Sky and Dave continued to ride in the back of Lance's jeep.

"You two holdin' up arright?" Lance asked.

"Can you please stop ask ing that and focus on not getting us killed?" Sky nervously requested.

"Relax Sheila, I know what I'm doing." Lance stated. "I could practically do this with my eyes shut. Wanna see?"

"No!" Dave and Sky frantically exclaimed in unison.

"Hmmphh, fine…" Lance muttered. "But I-"

Lance was cut off when the jeep ran over something large, causing the passengers to jolt.

"What was that?" Dave nervously asked.

The sound of air leaving the tires was heard next.

"Dammit!" Lance yelled as he stopped the car. "What the bloody 'ell did we run over?"

"Maybe you should go check." Sky suggested.

"Arright, you two are comin' to investigate with me." Lance replied. "Wouldn't feel safe leaving you blokes unattended in 'ere."

"If you insist." Dave replied as he began to leave the jeep.

The trio walked backwards over to where their vehicle had just driven.

"See anything?" Lance asked.

"Not yet." Sky replied.

"Uh… I think I do." Dave stated.

Dave pointed to a strip of metal spikes sticking out of the ground. The other two gathered around him.

"Huh? Well that explains the flats." Lance remarked.

"But who put them here?" Dave asked.

"Something tells me we shouldn't stick around long enough to get an answer." Sky replied.

A rustling of leaves is heard and out from the bushes emerged a group of five men in camouflage gear brandishing rifles. One of the members had a matching cap and a big bushy beard.

"Never mind… Too late for that…" Sky nervously trailed off.

"All right boys, stand down." The bearded man told his associates. "It's not what we came here for."

The other four men put down their weapons.

"Oy! Who do you think you are?!" Lance yelled at the apparent leader. "Puttin' bloody spikes in the middle of the road!"

"Lance, don't shout at the guy with the gun." Dave advised their guide.

"Who are you and why do you 'ave spikes in the middle of the road?" Lance asked.

"Well… If you must know this is our little… Poaching operation." The leader explained. "Now, you can either leave here without a fuss or we can shoot all of you down."

"Um… I choose the second one." Dave stated.

"Now old on, pal." Sky spoke up, approaching the leader of the poachers. "Maybe we could offer you a deal that could benefit everyone?"

"All right… I'm listening." The leader replied.

"Well, you see my associates here are on our way to a temple full of treasure." Sky explained. "If you provided some muscle, we'd be more than happy to give you fine gentlemen a cut of the treasure."

"Give us a moment to mull it over." The leader requested.

"Can I talk to you for a moment, Sky?" Dave asked.

Sky nodded and went over to the side of the area with Dave.

"So what is it?" Sky questioned.

"This whole plan doesn't seem smart." Dave started. "Getting a group of poachers to help is something that the _villains_ in these movies do."

"These aren't real poachers and we aren't looking for a real treasure." Sky pointed out. "Things'll work out fine."

"Hmm… All right, fine." Dave reluctantly trusted.

"All right! We're in!" The lead poacher announced.

"Excellent." Sky replied, turning to the leader.

"Yeah, just dandy." Lance agreed. "Any of you fellas 'ave a jeep?"

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sky)**

"Yeah, trusting those guys was a risky move." Sky admitted. "But I think I was able to make things work out."

* * *

Meanwhile, Anne Maria, Leshawna, and Wynona were continuing to trek through the forest.

"I hate this stupid jungle…" Anne Maria angrily mumbled.

"Your friend usually complain this much?" Wynona asked Leshawna.

"No, it's just the jungle getting to her." Lehsawna said.

"Soon as we get outta this place I'm never settin' foot anywhere near a jungle." Anne Maria stated. "Not even the rainforest exhibit at the zoo."

"Well don'cha worry 'cause I think we're just about there." Wynona replied.

"Thank god for that." Anne Maria said.

The trio stepped out of the thick and into a clearing and saw the ruins of an ancient temple carved into a mountainside with a set of stone stairs leading into it.

"Hey, this challenge ain't so hard after all." Leshawna commented.

"What challenge?" Wynona asked.

"Uh, nothing that you should worry 'bout." Leshawna told her.

"Well, if ya say so then." Wynona replied. "Let's get into that temple."

The trio began approaching the steps of the temple.

"You think we're here before the others?" Anne Maria asked.

"Can't say for sure." Leshawna replied.

"Wait, what others?" Wynona questioned.

"Oh, there were two other people who were looking for this place when we arrived in town." Leshawna explained.

"Well, I don't think we'll have to worry about them." Wynona stated. "This temple is pretty hard to find. You'd need someone who really knew their way around the jungle to find this place."

Just then, two jeeps drove out of the thick of the jungle. The first containing Sky, Dave, and Lance and the second containing the three poachers and their leaders.

"Dammit!" Wynona exclaimed.

"What should we do?" Anne Maria asked.

"Should we hold 'em off or get in to the temple?" Leshawna added.

"Go into the ruins." Wynona stated. "We'll let the traps that are already in there deal with these numbskulls."

"Uh, what if the traps kill _us_ instead?" Anne Maria pointed out.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure they won't." Wynona proclaimed. "Now let's go!"

Wynona ran further up the stairs towards the mouth of the temple with Leshawna and Anne Maria quickly following.

The camera panned over to Lance, Sky, and Dave getting out of their jeep.

"Hey, who're those blokes right there?" Lance asked, pointing to the trio running up the stairs.

"That looks like Anne Maria and Leshawna." Sky noticed. "But who's that third one?"

"Who and who?" Lance asked.

"Not important." Dave told him.

"All right boys! Let's storm the place at get that treasure!" The lead poacher announced to his men.

"Whoa, that's your plan?" Dave asked. "There could be traps or ghosts or something."

"Listen, your friend right there put me in charge and we're doing things _my_ way." The lead poachers told Dave. "Now let's move out."

"Actually, I don't think this is the wisest…" Lance began before the poachers pointing their guns at him. "Heh, great plan, mates. Let's get in there."

"Nice going Sky…" Dave grumbled, glaring at Sky.

"Look, we can still win if _you_ cooperate." Sky told him.

"Hey, save your thing for later." The lead poacher said. "We need to move out!"

The four poachers ran towards the mouth of the temple with Lance quickly following. Sky and Dave followed the group heading into the temple.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sky)**

"All right, fine, getting a group of virtual poachers to help was probably a badly thought out plan." Sky admitted.

* * *

Meanwhile, Anne Maria, Leshawna, and Wynona were walking through a dark stone hallway full of carvings with only a flashlight shone by the guide being the only light source.

"All right, I think we're making good time ahead of the others." Leshawna remarked. "Be sure to watch out for traps."

"We'd better be ahead of those bozos." Anne Maria said. "I gotta have that treasure if I wanna win this."

"In what?" Wynona asked.

"Don't worry 'bout it." Anne Maria replied.

"Hmm, you two are can be weird gals sometimes." Wynona noted as the group moved forward.

They continued for a few moments only to stop when they saw a deep pit in front of them with no bottom in sight.

"Uh… How do we get across that?" Leshawna asked.

"Easy, we jump." Wynona stated.

"What?!" Anne Maria exclaimed.

"No time to argue." Wynona told her.

Wynona ran at the oncoming pit and jumped, making it to the other side with no trouble.

"You two ready?" Wynona asked from her side.

"No…" Anne Maria nervously replied.

Just then, the trio heard what sounded like several loud footsteps approaching them.

"Uh oh…" Leshawna trailed off as she turned around.

Sky, Dave, Lance, and the four poachers were seen approaching the pit at an increasing pace.

"'Kay, I feel motivated to jump now." Anne Maria decided. "But… Uh, Leshawna, how 'bout you go first. Just to make sure."

"Hey, I the faster I get to the treasure the better." Leshawna replied as she backed up for the jump.

Leshawna charged at the pit and jumped, landing just on the edge of the other side.

"Whoa, that was a close one." Leshawna remarked as she backed away from the edge.

"All right, here I go." Anne Maria said as the approaching footsteps got louder.

Anne Maria ran at the pit and jumped. She undershot the jump and began to fall into the pit. Leshawna quickly grabbed Anne Maria's hand, suspending her above the spikes.

"I got'cha." Leshawna told Anne Maria.

Wynona wrapped her arms around Leshawna's waist and the both of them attempted to pull Anne Maria up with no success.

"Don't take this the wrong way, Anne, but you're kinda heavy…" Leshawna remarked as she continued to pull.

"It's mostly the hair, honest." Anne Maria replied.

"Hate to say it, but I don't think we can lift you up…" Wynona stated, still trying to pull.

Anne Maria looked down at the spikes below her and then up at the two people pulling her.

"Let me go." Anne Maria requested.

"What?" Leshawna asked.

"This all ain't real." Anne Maria reminded Leshawna. "Just make sure you win, all right."

"Will do." Leshawna replied.

"What the hell are you going on about this time?" Wynona asked.

Leshawna let go of Anne Maria's hand and she fell towards the bottom of the pit.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Anne Maria)**

"Y'know I never expected to make a heroic sacrifice." Anne Maria told the camera. "'Course, I didn't really die. Still, felt pretty good."

* * *

"C'mon, let's keep goin'." Leshawna told Wynona.

The duo ran further into the temple. Once they were out of site Dave, Sky, Lance, and the poachers made it to the end of the pit.

"Dammit, just missed 'em." Lance remarked.

"Uh, how are we s'posed to get across this death pit?" Dave asked.

"Psht, we just jump." One of the poachers confidently replied.

The poachers ran at the pit and leaped into the air. He was unable to make it to the other side and fell down into the pit.

"Dammit!" The poachers screamed.

"Meh, I always hated that guy." The lead poacher stated. "Anyone have any other ideas?"

"I'm pretty flexible." Sky pointed out. "I could probably make the jump. And once I'm across I could help you guys."

"Why not, sounds like it might work." Lance remarked. "Who else is with me?"

"I'm not so sure…" Dave doubted.

"Look Dave, it's either we're stuck back here, or one of us gets the treasure." Sky argued.

"All right…" Dave agreed, still not completely sure.

"Okay girlie, make the jump." One of the poachers told her.

"I was just about to." Sky told him. "How about you be patient."

Sky backed up and ran at the pit. She jumped into the air, did a flip when she was halfway across, and landed safely on the other side.

"Show off…" Dave remarked to himself.

"I'm with ya, mate." Lance agreed.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sky)**

"Yep, gymnastics pays off." Sky bragged.

* * *

The time had changed slightly since the confessional and all the members of Sky's group with the exception of Dave had made it across.

"Dave! You need to jump now!" Sky called over to him. "We don't know how much further ahead the others are."

"I know." Dave replied. "I just… I just don't think I'll be able to make it."

"If you fall, I'll catch you." Sky told him."

"Do you promise?" Dave asked.

"Of course I promise." Sky confirmed. "Now jump."

Dave ran at the edge of the pit and leaped into the air only to miss the edge causing him to begin falling into the pit. Sky quickly grabbed on to Dave's right hand.

"Don't worry! I'll pull you up!" Sky reassured him as she began to pull.

After a few more moments Sky managed to pull Dave up to the other side.

"Thanks…" Dave panted. "That was close."

"C'mon you two, we need to find that treasure." The lead poacher told them.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Dave)**

"Wow, I can't believe Sky pulled me up." Dave remarked. "I chased her with a robot island and she still helped me. I sure wouldn't have pulled me up if I was in her shoes."

* * *

Meanwhile, Wynona and Leshawna were walking through the winding halls of the temple.

"Damn, this place is like a maze." Wynona remarked.

"Yeah, coulda sworn we've been here before." Leshawna agreed.

"All right, last time we were here I think we took a right at the upcoming fork." Wynona said. "So that means we should take a left. C'mon, let's go."

"You sure 'bout that?" Leshawna asked.

"Not entirely but we might as well try anyway." Wynona replied.

Leshawna and her guide went forward turned left when they reached a divergence in the path.

"Man, it's dark down here." Leshawna commented.

"I'm doing the best I can with my flashlight." Wynona replied.

"Well, we'd better make it out of here soon." Leshawna remarked. "I'm startin' to think Anne mighta sacrificed herself for nothing."

"Oh, really, than what do you call… That?" Wynona said as she pointed ahead to a tall double door with various carvings on it that appeared to be made of gold.

"Wow… That sure is a door to a treasure room if I've ever seen one." Leshawna commented.

"Well, don't you just stand around, let's head on in." Wynona told her.

Leshawna nodded and pushed on the two doors. The doors swung open to reveal a room full of various coins and jewels lying on the ground with a large chest on a podium in the middle of the room.

"Wow, looks like we made it." Leshawna remarked. "Didn't expect that coming."

"C'mon, let's get to looting." Wynona said.

"Not so fast…" A voice said from behind the duo.

Wynona and Leshawna turned around and saw Dave, Sky, Lance, and the group of poachers.

"Thanks for leading us right to the treasure." Dave remarked.

"Now hold up Dave. This is only one part of the challenge." Leshawna pointed out. "You still have to get out of this death trap."

"What is this challenge you keep talking about?" Wynona asked. "Do you have some kind of bet going on."

"Something like that." Sky replied.

"All of you shut it." The lead poacher said. "Let's just get the treasure and get rid of those two."

The leader pointed to Wynona and Leshawna.

"Well… That ain't good." Leshawna remarked.

Just then, all parties were distracted when a panel in the stone wall opened up. Once it was opened completely, Anne Maria and the poacher that fell into the pit stepped out of the area.

"Oh hey, looks like we found a shortcut." Anne Maria remarked.

"Will you shut up…" The pocher grumbled.

Anne Maria looked over and saw everyone else.

"Oh… Looks like I walked in on somethin'…" Anne Maria commented.

"What the- How are you not dead?" Leshawna asked.

"Yeah, you too." Sky asked the poacher.

"Turns out that the landing in that pit was soft." Anne Maria explained. "And we kind just wandered around 'til we found this."

"Yeah, that's nice and all but we 'ave treasure to get you aren't gonna be part of it, mate." Lance said.

"You, keep an eye on these three." The lead poacher told his associate who had emerged from the tunnel.

"Right boss." The poacher replied before turning to Anne Maria, Leshawna, and Wynona and pointing his gun at them. "All right, no sudden moves."

All three of them put their hands up in surrender. The poachers and Lance spread out around the room and began taking various coins and jewels from the ground while Dave and Sky approached the big chest in the centre of the room.

"So, this must be the treasure Chris asked us specifically to find." Sky remarked as they approached the chest.

"Yeah, this thing looks pretty important to me." Dave agreed.

"Well, I guess we should see what's inside of it."

"Yeah, we probably should." Dave agreed. "By the way, I wanted to say thanks. For saving me earlier I mean."

"No problem." Sky replied. "You'd have done the same for me."

The two of them made it to the chest in the middle of the room.

"So, you want to open it or should I do it?" Dave asked.

"How about we make it fair and open it together." Sky suggested.

Dave nodded and the two of them placed their hands on the chest.

"Hey before we do this I just wanna tell you something." Dave said. "I've been thinking about a lot of stuff you said and I realized that I've been kind of a jerk to you and it is _a lot_ my fault that all our problems on Pahkitew Island happened. So…. I just wanna say I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too." Sky replied. "And yeah, it was at least a quarter my fault for what happened on Pahkitew Island. Let's just move on and try to start something new."

"We won't be dating though, right?" Dave asked.

"Oh, of course not." Sky replied.

"Phew, that's a relief." Dave remarked. "No offence but I don't see you like that anymore."

"Same here, Dave. Same here." Sky told him.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sky)**

"Wow, me and Dave had a civil conversation." Sky remarked. "Huh, maybe this is the start of something good."

* * *

Sky and Dave opened the chest together to reveal four golden miniature statues of Chris inside.

"Of course he puts himself as the treasure we're supposed to take." Sky remarked. "All right, let's just take these and get out of here."

Dave and Sky each grabbed a golden Chris idol only for the room to begin shaking.

"Uh… What's happening?" Dave asked.

"Well, I'm no expert but I think we just activated some kind of trap." Sky replied.

"Dammit! What the bloody 'ell did you two just do!" Lance shouted over to the two of them.

A large stone fell from the ceiling and landed next to one of the poachers.

"Uh… Pretty sure this place is collapsing." Dave replied.

"All right everyone! We got enough treasure!" The lead poacher ordered his men. "Let's move it!"

"Uh, what about these three?" The poachers guarding Leshawna, Anne Maria, and Wynona asked.

"Leave 'em. We got what we came for." The leader replied.

The poachers, Sky, Dave, and Lance began ran out the exit of the treasure room.

"C'mon, they're gone we can escape now." Wynona told the other two.

"Hold up, I wanna get some treasure first." Anne Maria replied.

"Are you insane?" Wynona asked. "It's not worth risking our lives over."

"Sorry, but I'm goin' with Anne to get the treasure." Leshawna told their guide.

"Fine, but _I'm_ going to be escaping!" Wynona announced before running out the front doors to the treasure room.

"All right, we need this treasure before we leave. Otherwise we're both eliminated." Leshawn recapped to herself.

"Let's just grab it and go before we get killed by a virtual falling rock." Anne Maria said.

The duo ran up to the open treasure chest and grabbed the two remaining Chris statues out of it.

"Ha! Yes!" Anne Maria cheered. "C'mon, let's book it!"

They began running out the main entrance to the treasure room.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Leshawna)**

"Y'know they really shoulda seen the whole temple collapsing thing coming." Leshawna remarked. "Wouldn't be an adventure movie without some old place falling to pieces at the end."

* * *

The scene changed to Sky and Dave running through the still collapsing temple.

"Do you think we're gonna make it?" Dave nervously asked as he fled.

"To be honest, our chances are pretty slim." Sky admitted. "But we can at least try."

A large chunk of ceiling fell down and crushed one of the poachers.

"Oh… That is not encouraging." Sky remarked.

"Eh, didn't like him either." The lead poacher said, still running. "No big loss."

Another rock fell from the sky on one of the other two poachers.

"No! Not Hal! I liked that guy!" The lead poacher exclaimed.

"Do ya like me?" The last remaining other poachers asked.

"Yeah… Sure." The lead poacher unconvincingly replied.

"Can ya bloody morons stop talking and keep running!" Lance shouted at the poachers.

The camera panned back to show Wynona running by herself.

"C'mon, gotta get out…" Wynona told herself.

"Yo! Wait up!" Leshawa's voice called out from behind.

Wynona turned around and saw Leshawna and Anne Maria approaching.

"Well, I'll be damned, you're still alive." Wynona remarked.

"Yeah, yeah, that's nice. But can we get out!" Anne Maria panicked. "Like, now!"

"Uh… I can't really remember the way back." Wynona admitted. "I'm running blind through this right now."

"Don't worry, I think I can remember it." Leshawna told her. "C'mon, let's take the next left."

They continued running and followed Leshawna to the left. Suddenly, the group stopped when they saw a large axe swinging side to side in front of them.

"Uh… Was that there before?" Anne Maria asked.

"Definitely not…" Leshawna realized. "But the walls look kinda familiar… Huh, this stuff musta activated when this place started to collapse."

"How do we get past exactly?" Anne Maria asked.

"We gotta wait for the right moment." Wynona replied.

"Easier said than done." Anne Maria remarked. "How 'bout you go first?"

"We don't got time for this." Leshawna said. "Okay, new plan, we try to find a new way out. There's gotta be more than one."

"Are you sure that'll work?" Anne Maria asked.

"No time to think about it, we gotta move." Lehshawna stated.

The trio turned around and ran back down the hall.

Meanwhile, Lance, Dave, Sky, and the last two remaining poachers were running in a different part of the temple.

"Are we even close to being out of here?" Dave asked.

"Only one way to find out." Lance stated. "Keep running."

"I was afraid you'd say that." Dave remarked.

"Don't worry Dave, we're miles ahead of the other team." Sky told him.

"Uh, I'm not so sure 'bout that." The lead poacher said, pointing behind him.

Sky, Dave, and the other poacher looked behind them to see the other three catching up.

"Dammit!" Lance exclaimed.

"Yo! We ain't done with you yet!" Anne Maria called over to Dave and Sky.

"Don't focus on them, Dave." Sky told him. "Just keep running, we can get out before them."

"Uh… Don't know about that either." The lead poacher told them.

They looked ahead and saw a slab of solid stone slowly coming down from the ceiling in front of the door.

"Seriously!?" Dave angrily shouted. "You have got to be-"

Dave was cut off by Leshawna sticking her foot out in front of him, causing him to trip and fumble into Sky who fell over too.

"Sorry kid, but I wanna win." Leshawna apologized as she dashed past the two of them.

She made it out of the exit, making sure to duck in order to avoid the slowly descending stone slab. Once she was on the outside she disappeared in a flash of blue light.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Leshawna)**

"All right, regret doin' that." Leshawna admitted. "But what can I say? It was the heat of the moment."

* * *

"Hey… A little help?" Dave asked from the ground as Lance, Wynona, and the two poachers ran past.

"Every man for 'imself, mate!" Lance exclaimed as he and the other three exited the temple.

"Seriously!?" Dave angrily yelled back.

Sky stood up and helped Dave to his feet.

"Don't worry, we still got a fighting chance." Sky replied.

Anne Maria then ran past the two of them.

"All right, let's hurry!" Sky tried to encourage Dave.

Dave and Sky began running and catching up with Leshawna.

"Man, you guys are good." Anne Maria remarked.

"Thanks, I try my hardest." Sky proudly replied.

"Sky, our window of opporitunity is running out." Dave reminded her, pointing to the slab of stone that was nearly halfway over the entrance.

"Yikes, that ain't good." Anne Maria observed.

"Sky… I think I have a plan." Dave told her.

"What is it?" Sky asked.

"I haven't really got time to explain." Dave admitted. "Just trust me."

"All right. Go do your plan." Sky told him.

Dave sped up and ran towards the slab of stone.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Dave)**

"I think that challenge is the most I've ever exercised." Dave admitted. "Is that bad?"

* * *

He stopped beneath the slab and put his hands on the stone, attempting to hold it up.

"Oh god… This was a mistake." Dave realized.

The camera panned over to Sky and Anne Maria running next to each other.

"C'mon… Gotta get out…" Anne Maria murmured to herself.

Sky began to pass Anne Maria.

"Sorry Anne, but I want out too." Sky told her.

Sky stopped in front of Dave.

"Oh thank god… I'm glad you're here. I can feel my spine collapsing…" Dave said.

"All right, let's go." Sky told him.

"You go first." Dave insisted. "The rules are the last two out are eliminated, remember."

"I already had my chance on Pahkitew Island." Sky told him. "You should get a chance at the million."

"Sky, I'm trying to do a nice thing here…" Dave replied as he bent his knees to keep the slab of stone from crushing him too quickly. "Just go."

"But I'm trying to be nice too." Sky said.

Before either of them made a decision, their discussion was cut short by Anne Maria running past the two of them and out of the temple.

"Oh… Well, crap." Dave remarked.

All three of them were absorbed in a flash of bright light.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Dave)**

"You know, if Sky had just done what I told her that would have-" Dave began before stopping himself. "No, I'm past this. I'm not going to blame Sky. She was trying to help me. I'll just accept what happened."

* * *

The four contestants awoke in the real world, standing up from the machine and removing their helmets.

"And it looks like we have an official pair of winners!" Chris announced. "… Not the ones I was expecting, but still winners. But that's right, Leshawna and Anne Maria, as the top two players in this challenge you win!"

"Aw yeah, baby!" Anne Maria cheered. "I'm the best!"

"Phew, didn't think I'd make it back there." Leshawna remarked.

"So, wait, does this mean me and Dave are out of the game?" Sky asked.

"Yep, 'fraid so." Chris replied. "After both your long runs, the road ends right here."

"Well, we made up in the end so I guess that sort of makes things better." Dave said. "Kinda… That million dollars woulda been really nice."

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Sky agreed.

"It's probably best for you two not to think of it for long." Chris told them. "It'll only make you remember how hard you lost."

"Thanks for the words of encouragement." Dave sarcastically replied.

"Anyway, due to the insta-elimination rules of this challenge, there will be no ceremony." Chris informed the final four. "So instead, Dave, Sky, please head down to the Lame-O-Sine right now. You will be missed. Not by me, but by someone, I'm sure. Anyway, off you go."

"Hey, uh, sorry for pushin' you." Leshawna apologized.

"It's fine." Dave replied. "Good luck in the finale."

Sky and Dave began walking out of the studio.

"Well… This kinda sucks." Dave remarked.

"Yeah, that's an understatement right there." Sky said.

The camera cut to them getting inside the limousine together.

"So now that we're friendlyish, wanna go see a movie or something?" Sky asked.

"No thank you." Dave replied. "After this season, I've had enough of movies for a lifetime."

"That's understandable." Sky remarked. "How about an early dinner?"

"Sure." Dave responded. "I just have a few allergies we might need to watch out for."

The scene switched to the outside of the limo as it drove away. Once it was gone Chris walked to the end of the red carpet.

"And thus our final two is decided." Chris told the audience. "Leshawna vs. Anne Maria. Gonna be honest, I thought both of them would be long gone by now. But that's beside the point, tune in next time for the exciting conclusion of, Total. Drama. Winners!"

* * *

 **Eliminated:**

Mike, the Nice Guy (18th Place)

Max, the Super Villain (17th Place)

Lindsay, the Dumb Princess (16th Place)

Geoff, the Funnest Guy Around (15th Place)

Sugar, the Pageant Queen (14th Place)

Jasmine, the Outback Survivalist (13th Place)

Owen, the Party Animal (12th Place)

Zoey, the Indie Chick (11th Place)

Beth, the Wannabe (10th Place)

Shawn, the Conspiracy Theorist (9th Place)

Harold, the Dweeb (8th Place)

Scott, the Schemer (7th Place)

Lightning, the Athletic Overachiever (6th Place)

Jo, the Jockette (5th Place)

Sky, the Athlete & Dave, the Normal Guy (4th Place & 3rd Place)

* * *

 **Since there was no elimination ceremony, I obviously won't be going over the votes. Anyway, that was the chapter. I've seen two out of the four Indiana Jones movies and I liked them both. I'd definitely recommend both of them. As for why I chose to eliminate Sky and Dave, I always had Leshawna and Anne Maria planned as the final two from the start. By the way, how do you think I did at writing Sky and Dave's relationship? It was pretty hard sometimes. Anyway,**


	20. If I Had A Million Dollars

**And here it is. The final chapter of this story. It took longer for me to get it out than I expected but here it is anyway. And don't forget about the alternate ending you can read after the main chapter. I haven't got all that many comments so let's move on to me responding to the reviews:**

 **Acosta Peres Jose Ramiro:** Thank you for the review. I can't think of any other specific comments, but your support is appreciated.

 **Sideshowjazz1:** I really couldn't think of any other way to end Sky and Dave's plotline. I mean, I can but it would be a whole lot less satisfying. Also, I like your thoughts on the finalists.

 **EliteBlitz:** Thanks. Hope you like who the winner is.

 **:** I'm glad you enjoyed this. I really like Jo too, she's an enjoyable character to write.

 **Picesxoxo:** Thank you for the review and I hope you enjoy this finale.

 **Nicky Haugh:** Thanks.

 **That British Guy:** Well, I hope you like the finale two better than you like Dave.

 **SilentSinger948:** Yeah, Anne Maria's a bit of an odd choice for a finalist. Also, I'm glad you like the resolution to Dave and Sky's plot. I would've thought there'd be more stories where they make up.

 **mattafat:** Thanks. Don't have much more to say but I really mean it.

 **garbage6.2:** Don't worry, I am definitely planning on posting both endings and bringing back the previously eliminated contestants.

 **JOHNHAMMOND1993:** You know, it's funny you should mention that challenge idea. I was actually considering using it in the finale from the beginning. But you'll have to see for yourelf if I used it.

 **Anyway, now that all this is out of the way, you can read it now. Enjoy.**

* * *

"Previously, on Total Drama Winners. We sent our final four off to find some treasure." Footage of the teams running through the jungle played. "Surprisingly, Sky and Dave managed to make up. Which is good for them, but bad for ratings." A clip of Dave attempting to hold the slowly closing door open was shown next. "But despite them patching things up, Leshawna and Anne Maria were the ones who won the challenge." Anne Maria exiting the ancient ruin was seen next. "Which meant Dave and Sky were the ones who got the boot."

The footage changed to Chris standing on the stage where he usually performs the elimination ceremony.

"It's time for the final two to face off. Will it be Leshawna or Anne Maria?" Chris continued. "Personally, I don't think either of them is the winning type. But you'll just have to find out which one it is, right here on, Total. Drama. Winners!"

* * *

 **(Theme Song)**

* * *

The camera faded in on the inside of the mess hall where Anne Maria and Leshawna were sitting across from each other at the same table.

"So… Final two. Pretty exciting, right?" Anne Maria tried to strike up some conversation.

"Yep, sure is." Leshawna agreed between bites of food. "How'd you make it this far anyway?"

"Easy, I used my… Uh… Well, I…" Anne Maria trailed off. "Y'know, I'm completely clueless."

"Yeah, I ain't too sure why I'm here either." Leshawna admitted. "I mean, I sure as hell worked hard for it. But I figured I'd get myself eliminated before now."

"Well, better not think 'bout what could've happened." Anne Maria told her. "'Cause what'cha really need to focus on is what could happen in the future. AKA, when I win."

"Oh, we'll see 'bout that." Leshawna replied.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Anne Maria)**

"Just gonna say it, ain't likin' my chances at winning." Anne Maria told the camera. "Seriously, I got no idea how I got this far and I sure as hell don't know how I'm gonna win. Basically, I'm screwed."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Leshawna)**

"I don't wanna mess this up." Leshawna stated. "Sure, Anne Maria seems like she'll be easy to beat. But if I get too cocky, then I might lose. Just gotta remember that she's made it this far somehow."

* * *

The camera switched over to a close shot of the camp loudspeakers.

"Hello, final two!" Chris greeted through the speaker system. "Meet me and Chef backstage in that area where we usually have the elimination ceremony. That's right, I'm changing it up! Anyway, get down here."

The scene then changed to Anne Maria and Leshawna arriving in the backstage area of the area the eliminations are held with Chris already waiting.

"Ah, so good of you to make it." Chris remarked. "You two ready for the final showdown?"

"Oh, you know I am." Anne Maria stated. "Bring it! Woo!"

"All right, that's the enthusiasm I like to see." Chris replied. "How 'bout you Leshawna? How do you feel?"

"I think I can win this." Leshawna stated. "'Course, I might be gettin' ahead of myself."

"Just what I like to hear." Chris said. "All right, enough of this. You all get on to the main stage. It's time for the final challenge!"

Chris, Leshawna, and Anne Maria walked through the curtain and stepped out on to the stage. Once they were out on the stage they saw the sixteen eliminated contestants in the audience area. On the centre of the stage itself, there were four chairs with helmets connected to a machine similar to the one they've used in the studio. Also on the stage stood Blaineley, Sierra, Topher, and Chef.

"As you can see we're really trying to make things all grand and stuff." Chris told the final two.

"Hi Leshawna!" Harold called out from the audience.

"Hey ya, Harold!" Leshawna waved back.

"Why the heck are these two here?" Anne Maria asked, pointing over at Sierra and Topher.

"Oh, we're hosting the Aftermath's along with Blaineley now." Sierra explained.

"It's the best!" Topher cheered.

"That makes _way_ too much sense." Leshawna remarked.

"All right Chef, let's kick things off with a bang." Chris instructed Chef.

"You got it, boss." Chef replied.

Chef walked off camera and came back moments later carrying what appeared to be a bazooka.

"Whoa!" Topher exclaimed in surprise. "Is that a rocket launcher? Do you have a permit for that thing?"

"Oh relax, it's a bazooka I turned into a fireworks gun in my spare time." Chef explained.

"You have got to find a better hobby." Blaineley told him.

"Ah, shut up, Mildred." Chef replied.

"Don't call me that. Ever." Blaineley sternly stated.

"Anyway, Chef, fire away!" Chris ordered.

Chef nodded and aimed the fireworks gun upwards.

"Here we go!" Chef cheered.

Chef fired the gun, sending a firework into the air.

"Woo!" Chris exclaimed. "Now _this_ is how you kick off a finale."

The firework hits a blimp off in the distance causing it to burst into flames and slowly crash.

"Aw crap…" Chef trailed off.

"That wasn't s'posed to happen, was it?" Anne Maria asked.

"No… No, it wasn't." Chris replied. "Uh, Sierra, Topher, go check that out and make sure Chef hasn't committed manslaughter."

"What? Why us?" Sierra asked.

"Because I say so." Chris told them. "Now go!"

Sierra and Topher shrugged and began running in the direction the zeppelin crashed.

"So, uh, that bit of potential murder out of the way…" Blaineley tried to move things along.

"Oh, right. The challenge." Chris quickly remembered. "Uh, Leshawna, Anne Maria, this is the part of the challenge where you choose your partners. This time though, your two helpers have to volunteer themselves. So, let's start with Anne Maria. Anyone wanna work with her?"

There was a silence from the crowd.

"Ah c'mon, seriously?" Anne Maria asked. "What'd I do to deserve this?"

"It's not that everybody hates you." Shawn told her from the audience. "I just don't think any of us like you enough."

"C'mon, somebody's gotta pick me." Anne Maria requested. "Show can't go on if ya don't. I'll literally take anyone. How 'bout, Max?"

"Hmmph, in your dreams. Maxwell Horatio Van Pelt only collaborates with the finest of evil minds." Max declared.

"Jeez, you coulda just said no." Anne Maria remarked. "C'mon, anybody?"

"Ooh! I'll do it!" Sugar volunteered. "Pretty sure we kinda became friends at some point. Don't really 'member that well."

"Eh, sure why not." Anne Maria accepted. "Get up here."

"Yeehaw!" Sugar cheered. "I get to help!"

"All right, we need just need one more helper for Anne then we can move on to Leshawna." Chris informed them.

Beth subtly nudged Zoey in the ribs.

"What're you doing?" Zoey whispered to Beth.

"Aren't you two friends?" Beth asked. "I mean, I wasn't really paying attention to you but I felt like something else was going on."

"Well, we sure don't hate each other like we used to the first time around." Zoey replied. "All right, I'll go for it."

"You sure about that?" Mike asked.

"Yeah, I don't think it'll end up that badly." Zoey stated.

"Woo! Looks like I get another helper." Anne Maria remarked.

"Okay, both of you get up there." Chris instructed Zoey and Sugar.

"Woo! I get to help!" Sugar cheered as she stood up and walked up on to the stage.

"Oh boy… I have a bad feeling about this." Zoey commented as she got up on the stage.

"All right, now, who wants to work with Leshawna?" Chris asked.

"Oh! I'll help!" Harold volunteered.

"Gee didn't see that one coming." Blaineley sarcastically remarked.

"Anyone else wanna work with me?" Leshawna asked.

"Hmm… I suppose I'll do it." Max volunteered.

"Wait, dude, didn't you say you only work with evil people?" Geoff pointed out.

"Yes, but also I'm rather bored right now and I need something to do." Max explained.

"Uh… Can someone else people volunteer?" Leshawna requested.

"Sorry Leshawna, you have to work with whoever volunteers." Chris told her.

"Well, 'least I still got Harold." Leshawna remarked.

"All right, you two, get up here." Chris told Harold and Max.

Harold and Max walked up the stairs on to the stage.

"So, can we get on with this or what?" Jo asked from her position in the audience. "I'm tired of being reminded I lost."

"Not so fast there." Chris told her. "We have one last thing to get out of the way before we start the challenge."

"Oh! Yay! A surprise!" Lindsay cheered. "Thanks, Craig."

"Just gonna ignore that…" Chris quietly remarked. "Anyway, as for this big surprise I have planned I might as well tell you. We used part of this season's budget to get a famous Canadian music guest to perform in the finale."

"Ooh, did you get Rush?" Owen asked.

"Okay, less famous than that." Chris replied. "I'm also at least fifty percent sure they're not performing anymore."

"Is it Alanis Morissette?" Sky guessed.

"Can you please stop guessing?" Chris requested.

"Is that band Phish Canadian?" Jasmine asked.

"What part of stop guessing didn't you guys get?" Chris remarked. "Look, I got the Barenaked Ladies to come in and sing their hit song 'If I Had A Million Dollars'. Get it? 'Cause it's the prize money? Anyway, here they are now!"

Chris raised his arms in the air and waited for a few moments.

"Uh… I said: Here they are now!" Chris repeated himself.

He looked around in confusion.

"Okay, what the hell happened to my musical guest?" Chris asked.

"Hey, don't look at me, pal." Chef replied.

"Yeah, I'm just as clueless as you are." Blaineley added.

Just then, Topher and Sierra ran back up on the stage looking out of breath.

"Oh, back so soon?" Chris remarked.

"We have good news and we have bad news…" Sierra told Chris, still sounding winded.

"Good news is that everyone inside that crashed blimp was able to bail out before they crashed…" Topher breathlessly explained. "But the bad news is the Barenaked Ladies were inside that blimp for some reason and they seemed really mad at you specifically… What did you do to them?"

"Oh… Yeah, they were supposed to be our musical act." Chris explained. "I guess this means they won't be performing."

"Definitely." Sierra replied. "They were, really, _really_ upset about their ride being blown up."

"Hey, why were they even in a blimp?" Chef asked.

"I told the producers I wanted them to make a big entrance." Chris explained. "I didn't realize that meant having them land in a blimp."

"Maybe we should move on." Blaineley suggested.

"Y-yeah, good idea." Chris agreed. "Let's pretend that Chef didn't almost kill an entire band."

"Hey man, don't pin the whole thing on me." Chef replied.

"Ahem, moving on." Blaineley reminded them.

"Right…" Chris nervously said before leaning closer to Chef and lowering his voice. "Psst, Chef, send an intern to apologize for the band for me."

"I'm on it." Chef replied before walking off stage.

"Uh, Chris, ain't ya gonna explain the challenge?" Anne Maria asked.

"Yeah, we've been waitin' for a little while now." Leshawna added.

"Oh, right, that." Chris remembered. "Right, so, today's challenge is based on the comedy film 'It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World'. I haven't seen the movie, but the producers told me that the plot involves finding a bunch of money."

"So we're gonna have to do that?" Leshawna asked.

"Exactly." Chris told her. "You're going to race from somewhere in Arizona to somewhere else in California and find the million dollars under a big 'W'."

"What does that even mean?" Anne Maria questioned.

"Yeah, and where in California are we s'posed to go?" Leshawna asked.

"Look, I don't know what the 'W' is. I've never watched the movie." Chris stated. "And was for where in California, I don't know either. But don't worry, you'll have maps."

"Thanks for the help…" Anne Maria sarcastically remarked.

"Anyway, to keep thing's from being too easy, there's another catch. You see one of your two 'Helpers' is actually going to be a 'Hinderer'. They'll try to keep both of you from reaching the big W." Chris continued. "… Man, 'Hinderer' does not sound like a real word."

"Keep going." Blaineley impatiently told him.

"Right, so, helpers, which one of you wants to be a hinderer?" Chris asked.

"Ooh! I do!" Max volunteered. "I shall be at my most evilest!"

"I don't think I got anything to worry about." Leshawna remarked.

"Oh, you'll see." Max stated. "You'll _all_ see. Mwahaha!"

"So, uh, Sugar, Zoey, either of you up for it?" Chris asked.

"Oh! Oh! I wanna!" Sugar volunteer.

"Seriously?" Anne Maria asked. "Ain't we friends or something?"

"Oh yeah, for sure." Sugar replied. "But the thing Chris wants me to do sounds real fun! Woohoo!"

"Eh, fair enough. I'd prob'ly do that too." Anne Maria admitted.

"All right, with your helpers and hinderers now chosen, it's time to start the challenge." Chris told the contestants. "All of you, please take a seat."

The final two and their helpers sat down in their chairs and put the helmets over their heads.

"Chef! Fire up the-" Chris began before stopping himself. "Oh, right. Chef's doing damage control… Blaineley! Fire up the machine!"

"What? I don't know how to operate this thing." Blaineley pointed out.

"Dammit, you're right." Chris realized. "All right, fine, I'll start it myself."

"Will ya sha-hurry it up, bro!" Lightning shouted from the audience. "Lightning's getting' bored!"

"I was just about to start. Be patient." Chris told him. "Here it goes!"

Chris pressed a few buttons on the machine.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Anne Maria)**

"I was real excited to get into the challenge." Anne Maria told the audience. "But also nervous… Mostly that last one actually."

* * *

Inside the virtual world, the final two and their helpers found themselves standing on the side of the road on an Arizona desert highway with four cars parked nearby.

"Huh… Not how I pictured us starting." Leshawna commented.

"Come now Leshawna, it's off to California with us!" Harold announced.

"Why are you talking like that?" Leshawna asked.

"It's the season finale. I need to be dramatic." Harold explained. "Now come on, let's- Wait, which car is ours?"

Leshawna felt around in her pocket and pulled out a key.

"Whichever one this key fits in." Leshawna replied.

She and Harold approached a purple car and put the key inside.

"Hot dog I got it right on the first try, let's go!" Leshawna cheered.

The duo got into the car and began driving away.

"C'mon Zoey, we ain't gonna just stand 'round." Anne Maria told her partner. "Let's hop to it!"

"Oh, right." Zoey replied. "Here we go I guess. Which car is ours?"

"Who cares, it can't be that hard to figure out." Anne Maria said. "They got it on their first try."

Anne Maria ran up to a nearby blue car with Zoey trailing behind. She tried to stick the key in but it didn't fit.

"Dammit…" Anne Maria muttered to herself.

"Try the red one." Zoey suggested.

Anne Maria ran over to the nearby red car and stuck the keys in.

"Aw yeah baby, we're in business!" Anne Maria cheered.

Zoey and Anne Maria hopped into the car.

"I'll look at the map, you drive." Anne Maria instructed.

"Oh, okay." Zoey said.

The car containing the two of them sped off.

"Yeehaw this is the best!" Sugar cheered.

"You fool! Why didn't you do anything to stop them?" Max asked. "We're supposed to be making things harder."

"I wanted things to be fair." Sugar explained. "Why did you do nothin'?"

"Uh… I hadn't thought of what my mastermind plan was yet." Max admitted. "But enough of this! We must move forward!"

Max took out his key and ran over to the blue car. He attempted to jam the key in but it wouldn't fit.

"Curses! Why won't you work?!" Max yelled.

"I think ya got the wrong car." Sugar told him.

"Oh…" Max sheepishly trailed off before approaching the remaining white car.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Leshawna)**

"Yeah, I wasn't too afraid of those two." Leshawna remarked.

* * *

The scene changed to Leshawna driving her car down the road with Harold looking at a map.

"Okay Harold, where are we goin'?" Leshawna asked. "Los Angeles? San Francisco?"

"The map has an 'X' over one area marked… Santa Rosita State Park." Harold replied.

"Never heard of it." Leshawna remarked.

"That's because it isn't a place in areal life. Anyway, I'll give you the directions to it." Harold told her. "Let's see here, it says-"

Harold was cut off when Max's car rammed into him from behind.

"Gosh! What was that?!" Harold exclaimed in surprise.

"That'd be the weirdo with the purple bowl cut." Leshawna replied as she looked in the rearview mirror, sounding more annoyed than afraid. "Don't worry, I can outdrive this guy. I bet his feet barely reach the pedals."

Leshawna accelerated her car.

"Now start givin' me directions so we can win." Leshawna instructed.

The camera panned back to Zoey and Anne Maria in their car.

"C'mon girl, faster!" Anne Maria ordered Zoey.

"Hey, I have no idea where I'm supposed to be going." Zoey pointed out.

"Heh, oh, right." Anne Maria realized, taking out a map from the glove compartment. "Hmm… There's this big 'ol X over some place called Santa Rosita State Park. Don't know where that is, but I guess that's where we're headed."

"As long as you give me directions we should be fine." Zoey replied.

"Yeah, you're right." Anne Maria agreed. "I think I got a good chance here."

Suddenly, Sugar's car sped past them and turned, blocking the road in front of them as well as stopping. Zoey quickly hit the breaks.

"Ah!" Zoey shrieked.

"The hell's she tryin' to do?" Anne Maria wondered before getting out of the car to face Sugar.

"Well howdy." Sugar greeted.

"That ain't an answer." Anne Maria said. "Move yer car."

"But then I wouldn't be doin' the job Chris gave me." Sugar pointed out. "You'll just have to find another way 'round."

"That can be arranged." Anne Maria replied.

She quickly went back over to the driver side of her car and opened the door.

"'Kay, change of plans, I'm drivin' now." Anne Maria stated.

"Oh… All right." Zoey remarked as she moved to the passenger's seat and Anne Maria sat down in the driver's area. "What exactly are you-"

Zoey was cut off when Anne Maria forcefully hit the gas on the car and drove off the road, into the desert.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Anne Maria)**

"Man… I gotta think 'bout my plans a little more before I do 'em." Anne Maria admitted.

* * *

The scene changed back to Harold and Leshawna in their car.

"All right what do your directions say now?" Leshawna asked.

"Don't worry, you don't have to make any turns for a while." Harold told her. "We should be good. Remember, we haven't seen anyone pass us yet."

"Yeah, but for all we know, they could be takin' a shortcut." Leshawna pointed out. "There's gotta be a faster way."

"Well… In the movie, a few of the characters rented out a plane." Harold replied.

"Hmm, any airfield on that map?" Leshawna asked.

"Actually yeah." Harold said. "But it's pretty far off the road."

"That's all right, I think I can drive us there." Leshawna replied.

"In that case, just turn directly off the road to the left." Harold instructed.

Leshawna complied and turned their vehicle off the road, further into the desert. Once they were gone, after a few moments, Max stopped his car right where they turned.

"Haha! I must've driven them off the road!" Max gloated to himself. "Truly I am the most evilest! Hmm… I shouldn't give up the chase yet. The chase continues!"

Max turns his car off the road and follows the tire tracks left by Leshawna's car.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Max)**

"They've always mocked me… Never took me seriously… Well, in this challenge I flipped the tables!" Max proclaimed.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Anne Maria)**

"That little purple haired kid was real funny." Anne Maria remarked. "And he wasn't even after me. I wish he was though; it'd probably have made things a little easier."

* * *

Meanwhile, Anne Maria and Zoey were still driving through the Arizona desert aimlessly.

"Anne, was it the best idea to drive into the desert without any plan?" Zoey asked.

"Prob'ly not." Anne Maria admitted. "Hey, can you find where we are on a map?"

Zoey unfolded their map and glanced at it.

"Okay… So we started around here… Sugar stopped us… Around there…" Zoey tried to calculate. "So we should be… Somewhere in this desert area."

"How specific." Anne Maria sarcastically remarked.

"I'm trying the best I can here." Zoey replied. "Did you see any signs for major landmarks before we got off the road?"

"What kind of landmarks?" Anne Maria asked.

"Restaurants, tourist traps, there are a few airplane related places nearby for some reason." Zoey listed. "Stuff like that."

"Wait, airplane related places?" Anne Maria repeated. "What do you mean?"

"Well there's an airfield and then there's something called an 'Aviators Club'." Zoey explained. "I'm not sure what that last one is though."

Anne Maria hit the brakes on the car.

"Why'd we stop?" Zoey asked.

"Hmm, a plane could give us a huge advantage." Anne Maria realized. "How far away are those places you mentioned?"

"Well, that weird sounding Aviators Club looks closer to here. But it's hard to tell since I'm still not one hundred percent sure where 'Here' actually is." Zoey replied.

"Guess we're goin' to the Aviators Club… Whatever that is." Anne Maria said. "Which way do I go now?"

"Uh… Turn around and go to the right." Zoey instructed.

"Got'cha." Anne Maria replied, turning their car around and driving off.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Zoey)**

"On one hand, it's nice me and Anne aren't enemies. On the other hand, I still don't wanna hang out with her too regularly." Zoey admitted. "She can be a bit… Intense."

* * *

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the vast Arizona desert, Leshawna's car continued to drive along.

"Okay, are we anywhere close to this airfield?" Leshawna asked.

"Pretty sure we're almost there." Harold replied. "Just keep going ahead."

"Thank god." Leshawna remarked. "Any sign of Max?"

"Nope." Harold said. "We should be in the clear."

"And thank god for that too." Leshawna commented. "Ooh, and I think I see the airfield right in front of me now."

Harold looked up and saw they were approaching two rusted out aircraft hangars with a dilapidated house built near the runway.

"Looks like it's seen better days." Harold observed.

"Definitely." Leshawna agreed. "Sure hope this place isn't abandoned."

Leshawna parked the car right outside of the old house.

"I'll go see if anyone's there." Harold told her. "If the people here turn out of to be rejected slasher villains go without me."

"What are the chances of that?" Leshawna asked.

"Pretty low." Harold admitted. "But with Chris, you can never be too careful."

Harold opened up the car door and approached the house. He knocked on the door and waited for a few moments. After a bit, a grizzled older man wearing jeans and flannel with a scraggly beard and a large untrimmed head of hair exited the house.

"Huh? Who's there?!" The man asked in a panic. "I'll kill ya if I have to?"

"Gosh, calm down." Harold told the man. "We just wanted to know if this airfield is operational."

"Depends." The man replied. "How much are ya willin' to pay?"

"How much do you want?" Harold asked.

"Spare a fifty?" The man requested.

"Wow, you are really ch- I mean, yes." Harold said, reaching into his pocket.

Harold handed the older man a fifty dollar bill. Once Leshawna saw this she got out of the car.

"I'll be takin' the plane too." Leshawna told him.

"That'd cost you another fifty in that case." The man stated.

Leshawna fished around in her pocket and pulled out a fifty dollar bill.

"Here you are." Leshawna said, handing it to him. "Now can ya land us near Santa Rosita State Park?"

"I'll see what I can do." The man replied. "I can fly you there and back. But if you take more than a day I get to keep your car."

"Yeah, sure. You can do that." Leshawna told him. "One last thing, how safe are these planes."

"Eh… There are some things that are better with you not knowing." The man stated. "Now, are you ready to-"

Their pilot was cut off when Max's car pulled up, kicking up plenty of dust in the process.

"The hell's going on?!" The man angrily yelled. "This guy with you?"

"No, definitely not." Leshawna said.

Max stepped out of his car and ran up to the man.

"You! Get me in one of your finest planes!" Max ordered.

"Sorry little guy, I'm already flying these two." The man stated, pointing to Harold and Leshawna. "But… I got a spare plane and my wife can fly you."

"Does she know how to operate an airplane?" Max questioned.

"Yeah… Sure. She mostly fixes the planes but I think she can handle it." The man replied before looking over his shoulder. "Hey! Lurlene! Get out here!"

His wife, a tall curly haired blonde woman in grease-covered overalls and white t-shirt, exited the house.

"Huh? What's goin' on Curtis?" Lurlene asked.

"Go take this little guy over to a plane." Curtis instructed. "You're flyin' him to wherever he wants. I already gotta take care of these two."

"Oh, all righty." Lurlene commented before looking at Max. "Huh, you're a funny-lookin' feller."

"Silence fool!" Max ordered. "Direct me to your finest plane!"

Lurlene shrugged.

"This way." Lurlene stated.

"Haha! So long!" Max laughed at Leshawna and Harold. "I'll get there far before you!"

Max followed Lurlene over to one of the nearby hangars.

"So, you two come with me." Curtis told Harold and Leshawna.

"This had better be a safe plane." Leshawna remarked.

"You'll see." Curtis told her.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Leshawna)**

"Yeah, I was a little worried 'bout that weird pilot dude." Leshawna said. "But I was also pretty sure that Max wouldn't make it there before us. The lady he got didn't look like she knew what she was doing."

* * *

Meanwhile, Anne Maria was driving her car along a barely defined dirt road.

"You're making me real nervous here." Zoey told her.

"Just tell me where to go and we'll be just fine." Anne Maria stated.

"The Aviators Club should just be up ahead." Zoey replied.

"Well, I ain't seein' anything." Anne Maria remarked. "Wait… That might be something."

Anne Maria looked ahead and saw they were approaching a modern looking grouping of buildings surrounded by fake grass. There were several small airplanes parked on the grass and next to the grouping of buildings was a large sign that said "Wallace Field's Aviator's Club".

"Yeah, that's pretty definite." Zoey agreed.

Anne Maria parked next to the sign.

"I ain't seein' a parking lot so this'll have to do." Anne Maria commented. "C'mon, let's get inside and see if anyone'll fly us."

Anne Maria and Zoey exited their car and approached the building with a sign outside reading "Main Office".

"This place looks pretty exclusive. You sure they'll let us in?" Anne Maria asked.

"Guess we'll have to find out." Zoey replied.

They entered the building and saw an older balding man in a tuxedo playing pool.

"Carol? Is that you?" The older man asked, still focused on his billiards game. "Put my bottle of scotch down somewhere."

"Uh, hi, none of us are Carol." Zoey greeted.

The older man turned around.

"Who are you?" The older man asked. "Are you here to rob me?"

"What? Of course not." Anne Maria told him. "We were wondering if anyone here could fly us up to California."

"Ha! You can't just barge in here and ask for a plane." The older man said. "Unless you have a ridiculous amount of money."

Anne Maria reached into her pocket and pulled out a wallet.

"Here, you can take whatever's in my wallet." Anne Maria told him.

"Hmm… Maybe." The man replied, grabbing her wallet.

"Uh, I'll give you whatever I have too." Zoey stated, taking out her wallet.

"I feel like this is bordering on bribery." The man remarked. "I'm not so sure."

"Look, we just need to get outta here." Anne Maria stated. "Especially before-"

Anne Maria was suddenly cut off when the door burst open and Sugar stepped in.

"Quick! Gimme a plane!" Sugar demanded.

"Sugar gets here…" Anne Maria finished her earlier sentence.

"What the hell is going on?" The man asked. "Do you all know each other?"

"You could say that." Zoey told him.

"How about I take all three of you on board my plane." The man suggested.

"Huh? Wait, hold on." Sugar said. "I didn't agree to that."

"Yeah, neither did I." Anne Maria added.

"Well, I'd feel bad if I left one of you behind." The man said. "You've all clearly come a long way to get here."

"All right, fine. We'll let Sugar come with us." Anne Maria said.

"Ah gee, I ain't so sure I wanna go." Sugar remarked. "Guess we'll all have to _stay here_. And you'll have to lose."

"I'll buy ya some pastries when we get outta here." Anne Maria promised her.

Sugar stared off in thought before looking back at her.

"All right, fine." Sugar agreed. "But this don't mean I'm done tryin' to stop you."

"So, are you all ready to get going?" The man asked.

"Of course." Zoey replied.

"Great. Let me just grab that bottle of scotch I told my assistant to get first." The man stated.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Anne Maria)**

"Wow, can't believe that plan I had with Sugar actually worked." Anne Maria admitted. "Girl must really like her sweets."

* * *

Meanwhile, up in the air, Harold and Leshawna were in the back two seats of a biplane being driven by the grizzled old pilot they met earlier, Curtis.

"Hey! We goin' the right way!" Leshawna shouted over to Curtis.

"More or less!" Curtis replied. "Been a while since I've been to Santa Rosita. Most folks wanna go to the big famous cities. Los Angeles and whatnot."

"Excuse me, do you think our car will be safe?" Harold asked.

"What?!" Curtis shouted, trying to ask for clarification. "Speak up! I can't hear a word you're sayin'!"

"I said: 'Do you think our car will be safe?'." Harold repeated.

"Depends. Did you remember to lock it?" Curtis questioned. "'Cause if you didn't… Well, if the thieves don't break in, the wild animals sure as hell will."

"Gosh, I don't think we locked it." Harold realized.

"Don't worry 'bout it." Leshawna told Harold. "It's not like it's our real car or anything."

"What?" Curtis asked. "'Course, it's a real car. I saw it with my own eyes."

"Eh, never mind." Leshawna said. "Forget we said anything."

"I just don't understand teenagers…" Curtis mumbled to himself. "Thank god I didn't get that short feller."

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the sky, Max was being flown around in a different rickety biplane by Curtis' wife Lurlene.

"Faster! Faster!" Max ordered. "We must beat them!"

"I'm flyin' this old thing as fast as I can." Lurlene replied.

"Well let me take over then." Max requested. "Maybe I can fly this rusted out tub faster."

"Y'know mister you ain't all that nice." Lurlene remarked. "How 'bout you keep it down for the rest of this ride.'

"Nobody tells me what to do!" Max declared.

"Tell yourself what you want, sweetheart…" Lurlene quietly remarked.

Max looked forward and saw Leshawna and Harold's plane ahead of him.

"Shoot that plane down!" Max demanded. "Now! I must hinder them to the best of my abilities."

"What? This old thing don't have no guns." Lurlene told him.

"Well ram into them!" Max continued to order.

"I still ain't doin' that. My husband's on that plane." Lurlene pointed out.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Max)**

"Being evil is very hard when your sidekick refuses to cooperate." Max stated.

* * *

Meanwhile, Sugar, Anne Maria, and Zoey were inside a small plane with the same man they met from before in the pilot's seat.

"Wow, I don't think I've ever been on a plane this small before." Sugar commented.

"Well, I haven't had this many passengers before." The man replied. "This thing is really only built for two people."

"Wait, what?" Anne Maria asked.

"Ah, I'm sure it'll be fine." The man told her.

"Hey, I don't think we ever got your name." Zoey realized.

"Well, my name is Finley Cornelius Rutherford Van Pelt the Third." The man introduced himself.

"I think we'll just use that first name you said." Anne Maria remarked.

"Very well." Finley replied.

The quartet sat around in silence for a few moments.

"Could one of you take over for a little bit?" Finley asked. "I keep a bottle of bourbon in the mini-fridge I have in the back. I just need a sip."

"Wait, take over?" Zoey nervously questioned. "Is that a good idea?"

"Ah, don't worry about it." Finley insisted. "It'll only be for a short while. Now, anyone wanna take my place."

"Ooh! I'll do it!" Sugar volunteered.

"Oh dear god… Why…" Anne Maria quietly muttered to herself.

"That's the type of enthusiasm I like to see." Finley remarked. "All right, sit down here while I get my drink."

Finley got up from the pilot's seat and moved towards the back of the plane. Sugar quickly took Finley's seat.

"So… How do I use this here thing?" Sugar wondered.

"It's very simple!" Finley called over to her from the back. "I'm sure you can figure it out on your own!"

"If ya say so." Sugar replied.

Sugar put her hands on the plane's steering wheel.

"So… Think this thing's got any parachutes?" Anne Maria asked Zoey.

"I hope so." Zoey said.

"Ah, you two just gotta have a 'lil faith. If I crash, then we'll _all_ die. I wouldn't do that." Sugar insisted. "Well, on purpose at least."

Sugar lightly turned the plane's wheel to the right causing them to turn to the side very sharply. This caused Finley to trip over backwards and hit his head on the floor, knocking him out.

"Uh oh, I think I heard something crack." Anne Maria remarked. "Hey, Zoey, go check to see if our pilot guy's all right."

"Heh, whoops…" Sugar murmured. "That wasn't sposed to happen."

Zoey went over to Finley and checked his pulse.

"Well, he's alive but he's out cold." Zoey told the other two. "So… It kinda looks like _we_ have to navigate our way to California."

"Looks, like we're screwed." Sugar remarked.

"Don't say that. C'mon, keep flyin' this thing." Anne Maria tried to encourage her.

"Eh… How 'bout you do it." Sugar suggested, standing up from the pilot's seat. "I'd really rather not."

"Well, someone's gotta fly." Anne Maria remarked as she got into the driver's seat. "If we crash… It's gonna suck."

"You are not calming me down here." Zoey stated.

"I'm as nervous as you." Anne Maria told her. "Now somebody grab me a map and show me the way to California."

"We're gonna die…" Zoey nervously muttered.

"Well, 'least that makes my job easier… 'Course, then I fake-die too." Sugar realized.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sugar)**

"Y'know, I wasn't too good at my job now that I think about it." Sugar admitted.

* * *

Meanwhile, Harold and Leshawna's plane was landing on a different airfield on the outskirts of a large southern Californian city.

"This the place?" Leshawna asked.

"Yep, Santa Rosita. Told ya I'd get you there quickly." Curtis said.

"Do you have permission to land here?" Harold asked.

"Uh… Yeah, sure." Curtis told him. "Um, all that really matters is that we're here. Now, why don't ya get out? I'll be waitin' for you later."

"Tell that short guy travelling with your wife we said hi." Leshawna remarked.

"I don't think you'll have to." Curtis said. "Here they come now."

Leshawna and Harold looked up and saw Max's plane above them slowly moving towards the ground.

"You don't think they'll crush, do you?" Harold wondered.

"Hard to say…" Leshawna replied, sounding a bit worried. "Actually looks like they're headin' towards us…"

Max's plane crashes down right next to Leshawna and Harold's plane, lightly bumping into their wing.

"No! You were supposed to hit the _whole_ plan!" Max angrily shouted.

"I wasn't even tryin' to hit it at all." Lurlene stated.

"Stupid oaf…" Max muttered before looking at his pilot and raising his voice. "Well, looks like I'm off. Wait here for me. I have to stop them from reaching their prize."

"Wait, what prize?" Lurlene asked.

"None of your concern." Max stated. "Now, if you'll excuse me."

Max hopped out of the plane only to slam face first on the ground.

"Gosh, that looked painful." Harold remarked.

"Let's not think about it." Leshawna told him. "C'mon, let's go find a cab."

"Good idea." Harold agreed.

"Y'all have fun with… Whatever's goin' on with you." Curtis said.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Max)**

"Ugh! How dare they not take me seriously?" Max asked. "Fools, once I'm on top of the world they'll be sorry."

* * *

Meanwhile, Anne Maria, Zoey, and Sugar were still up in the air with their unconscious pilot.

"Okay, forget how close we are." Anne Maria said. "Do ya see anywhere to land?"

"Nope, don't look too good down there." Sugar remarked, looking out the window.

"Ugh! Seriously!" Anne Maria angrily exclaimed.

Zoey went over to another window and looked out.

"Hang on, I think I see a flat spot on the ground we can land at." Zoey remarked.

"Oh thank god." Anne Maria remarked. "All right… Wish me luck. 'Cause I got no idea what I'm doin'."

Anne Maria began to guide the plane downwards.

"Well… If I die in a plane crash at least I'll have an idea what it'll be like…" Zoey told herself as she shut her eyes tight.

"Relax, it'll all be okay…. Probably." Anne Maria said. "Now, how do ya put the wheels out?"

"Maybe this'll do it." Sugar suggested, pressing a random button.

"I have no idea what you just did." Anne Maria stated.

"Well, the wings didn't fall off so we should be fine." Sugar remarked.

Anne Maria guided the plane even closer to the ground.

"Hey… If I pass out inside a simulation what would happen?" Zoey asked.

"Let's not find out, 'kay?" Anne Maria replied.

The plane touched down on the desert ground and began spinning out of control.

"I _did not_ mean to do this!" Anne Maria screamed as the plane spun around on the ground.

"Yeehaw! This is actually pretty fun!" Sugar cheered.

"Speak for yourself…" Zoey nervously murmured.

"Ah, you ain't even got your eyes open." Sugar nonchalantly pointed out.

"Can ya both shut it!" Anne Maria yelled. "I'm tryin' to focus!"

After a few more moments of the plane skidding around, they came to a gradual stop.

"Let's never do this again…" Zoey trailed off, sounding a mix of terrified and relieved.

"How are we not dead?" Anne Maria wondered.

"Ah, it's a simulation. Stuff like that don't matter." Sugar said, still sounding calm.

"C'mon Zoey, let's go find that W treasure thing." Anne Maria told her partner.

"R-right." Zoey replied, still on edge.

"Y'all have fun." Sugar wished them. "I'll catch up."

Zoey and Anne Maria made their way over to the exit door and opened it. Anne Maria stepped out only to fall to the ground, landing on her face.

"Watch that first step…" Anne Maria weakly warned. "It's a _bit_ of a drop…."

"Heh, thanks a lot." Zoey replied.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Zoey)**

"I knew that whole thing was virtual." Zoey stated. "But still… I was really worried when Anne Maria was in control of that plane."

* * *

Meanwhile, Harold and Leshawna were inside a taxi cab driving through a city area.

"So why're ya in a hurry to get to this park?" The driver wondered.

"It's a long story." Leshawna stated. "I don't really wanna go through the whole thing."

"Fair enough." The driver replied.

Just then, the passengers and the driver felt something ram into the back of their vehicle.

"Gosh!" Harold exclaimed.

"Who did that?" The driver asked.

"I think I have a pretty good idea…" Leshawna grumpily muttered.

Harold and Leshawna looked behind them and saw a taxi with Max in the passenger seat.

"Of course it's him…" Harold sighed before turning to the driver. "Hey, think you can go faster?"

"To get away from this maniac? Sure." The driver said.

The driver began to speed up.

The scene switched to the inside of Max's taxi.

"Grr! Faster!" Max ordered. "And hit them again!"

"Look, I only did it the first time 'cause you said you'd tip me extra." The cabbie told him. "You gonna pay me even more or what?"

"Fine." Max said. "Now hit them again!"

"Uh, I think we just lost them." The cabbie remarked, looking ahead at the road where Leshawna and Harold's taxi was nowhere to be seen.

"Hmmph, you're useless…" Max muttered before raising his voice. "Tell me, do you know any shortcuts to Santa Rosita State Park?"

"Hmm… Yeah, think so. But that's still an extra tip." The cabbie stated.

"Deal." Max said, handing the cabbie a wad of cash.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Leshawna)**

"I'll give that little guy one thing, he sure was determined." Leshawna commented.

* * *

Elsewhere in the city, Zoey and Anne Maria were driving around in a different cab.

"Hey, can ya hurry it up?" Anne Maria urged. "We're in a little bit of a rush."

"Lady, I'm goin' as fast as I can." The taxi driver said.

"Well can ya go faster than that?" Anne Maria asked.

"I don't think he can." Zoey pointed out.

"Listen, I don't know why you wanna go to the state park, but whatever it is has gotta wait." The taxi driver told them.

Suddenly, another taxi sped past the two girls in their car, going dangerously close to them and knocking off one of the rearview mirrors.

"What the- Wh-who did that?!" Zoey exclaimed.

"Ten bucks says it's Sugar." Anne Maria remarked.

"Yeehaw!" Both girls heard someone faintly cheer in the distance.

"Yep, definitely her." Anne Maria confirmed.

"Grr! Nobody smashes up my cab and gets away with it!" The taxi driver declared.

The taxi driver hit the accelerator in his car.

"Well… This is one way to go faster…" Zoey softly muttered, clenching on to her seat.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Anne Maria)**

"Ha, can't believe Sugar actually helped us out there." Anne Maria remarked.

* * *

Meanwhile, Leshawna and Harold were still inside their taxi cab.

"Hey, we there yet?" Leshawna asked.

"Almost." The driver replied. "And when I say almost I mean yes."

The taxi stopped.

"All right, here's your fare." Harold said, handing the driver a bundle of money.

"See ya." Leshawna told the driver. "Thanks a bunch."

Leshawna and Harold exited the car and ran through the entrance to the park.

"Man, wonder what's got 'em in a hurry." The driver wondered.

Suddenly, another cab rammed into the first one.

"Dammit!" The driver exclaimed. "Again? Seriously?!"

Max stepped out of the other cab and began running along the same path Harold and Leshawna did.

"Mwahaha! They can never escape me!" Max declared.

"How many more weirdos are comin' here, huh?" The driver asked nobody in particular.

Two more taxis suddenly pulled up to the curb next to the park.

"I wasn't serious!?" The driver shouted at nobody.

Sugar stepped out of the first taxi while Zoey and Anne Maria exited the second taxi. All three began running towards the park.

"All right, that's it. I'm gettin' a lunch." The driver decided.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sugar)**

"Man, can't believe we all chose taxis. Woulda thought 'least one of us would try hitchhikin'." Sugar remarked. "'Course, that ain't always the safest. My uncle Hank went hitchhiking a few months back he only just now got back home."

* * *

The scene switched to Harold and Leshawna running through the park together.

"Big W… Big W… What could that be?" Leshawna wondered.

"Well, in the movie it was a grouping of palm trees resembling the letter W." Harold told her. "So it could be that."

"Got it. I'll keep an eye out for palm trees." Leshawna stated.

"Think we're the only ones here right now?" Harold asked.

"I haven't seen anyone so far." Leshawna remarked. "I'd say our chances are-"

Leshawna stopped herself when she noticed Max emerging from some nearby bushes.

"Max… The hell are you doing?" Leshawna asked.

"Curses! My attempt at stealth has been foiled!" Max exclaimed.

"Look, you ain't that good at this whole 'Hinderer' thing. Can't ya just leave us alone?" Leshawna requested.

"Never!" Max declared.

"Come on, let's walk faster." Harold suggested to his girlfriend.

"Good idea." Leshawna agreed.

Leshawna and Harold began walking away from Max.

"Grr! Don't walk away from me!" Max shouted, following Harold and Leshawna.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Max)**

"Why don't they fear me?" Max wondered. "Hmm… Maybe it really is the haircut?"

* * *

Meanwhile, Zoey and Anne Maria were walking around in another part of the park.

"Big W… Hmm… Hey, Zoey, what words start with 'W'?" Anne Maria asked.

"Uh… Waterfall?" Zoey suggested.

"Eh, this don't look like the type of place that'd have a waterfall." Anne Maria replied.

"Yeah, you got a point." Zoey admitted.

"So, ya think anyone else is here yet?" Anne Maria asked.

"Definitely." Zoey replied. "I saw a _bunch_ of taxis when we arrived."

"Hmm, that ain't good." Anne Maria said. "We'd better hurry. And try to think of more 'W' words."

"What about wheel?" Zoey suggested.

"Hmmm… Maybe. I'll keep an eye out for anything that looks like a wheel." Anne Maria remarked.

The duo continued walking in silence for a few moments.

"Hey, do you hear something?" Zoey asked.

"Yeah… I think I do…" Anne Maria murmured, stopping in her tracks.

Zoey stopped too and both girls went completely silent as they heard the sound of rustling leaves coming from nearby.

"What do you think it is?" Zoey quietly asked.

"I swear, if it's Sugar, I don't know what I'll do but I'll prob'ly regret it." Anne Maria said.

After a few more moments out from the bush stepped the two pilots that got Harold, Leshawna, and Max to California: Curtis and Lurlene. Both pilots were carrying a shovel.

"What the- Who the hell are you two?" Anne Maria asked.

"We could ask you the same question, missy." Lurlene replied.

"Wait, you two wouldn't happen to know about a skinny guy with a hamburger on his short and a chubby girl with fruit on hers?" Curtis questioned.

"Y'know I was just about to ask you the same thing." Anne Maria remarked. "How do you know 'em."

"I gave 'em a ride over to here on my plane. And my wife brought over some purple haired feller without a neck." Curtis explained.

"Yeah, that neckless guy said somethin' 'bout a treasure bein' buried here between his barkin' orders at me." Lurlene explained. "So we stopped by the hardware store to get these shovels and now we're lookin' for it."

"Yeah, we're looking for it too." Zoey said.

"Ya got any clues on where to find it?" Curtis asked. "We're just plum stumped right now."

"All I know is that it's under a big-" Zoey began before Anne Maria put her hand over her mouth.

"Heh, sorry, but we don't wanna have too much competition." Anne Maria said. "Anyway, see ya later."

Zoey and Anne Maria quickly scurried off down the path away from the duo of pilots.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Anne Maria)**

"Virtual people tryin' to steal my cash wasn't somethin' I was expecting." Anne Maria commented.

* * *

Meanwhile, Leshawna and Harold were still wandering around.

"See any W shaped palm trees?" Leshawna asked.

"Not yet." Harold replied.

"Man, this is the only show where that exchange makes any sense." Leshawna commented as they walked.

The two of them continued for a bit but froze when they saw the silhouette of a man ahead of them.

"Uh oh, that might not be good." Leshawna remarked. "Harold, you recognize that guy? Is he our pilot?"

"I don't think so." Harold replied. "Maybe he's someone at the park for reasons that aren't about the treasure. Let's go talk to him."

"Guess it couldn't hurt." Leshawna agreed.

Harold and Leshawna approached the silhouetted man and once they were close it was clear that it was Anne Maria, Zoey, and Sugar's pilot: Finley.

"Ah, hello there. Finally, I was beginning to think that nobody else was here." Finley greeted.

"Who are you exactly?" Harold asked.

"Finley Cornelius Rutherford Van Pelt the Third. World class aviator and alcohol connoisseur. At your service." Finley introduced himself.

"Oh… And why're you here?" Leshawna asked.

"Well, I loaned my aviator services out to some fine young women. While I was up for a drink I fell over and was knocked unconscious." Finley began explaining. "When I awoke it appeared that my plane had crashed. So I began tracking down the girls I was with to get them to pay the damages. But I've only been able to keep a close eye on the overweight blonde one… And I now seem to have lost her."

"Wow, you could've used _way_ less words when you were explaining that." Leshawna observed.

"I am quite the wordy person." Finley admitted.

"Listen, we gotta go now." Leshawna told him. "But if you see a big W, let us know."

"A what?" Finley asked.

"Don't worry about it." Harold quickly told him.

Leshawna and Harold began walking away from the aviator.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Leshawna)**

"I got no clue what Anne's little group did, and I don't wanna know." Leshawna stated.

* * *

Meanwhile, Zoey and Anne Maria were walking around in a relatively clear area of the park.

"Ugh, this is hopeless." Anne Maria complained. "I don't see a big W anywhere."

"Maybe we should take a break." Zoey suggested.

"Eh, I could use one of those." Anne Maria admitted. "All right, let's sit down."

Anne Maria and Zoey sat down beneath a nearby palm tree.

"You know, I haven't seen anybody else in a while." Zoey commented. "Think that means Leshawn's already found the W."

"Sure hope not." Anne Maria said. "I've worked hard for this…. 'Least, I feel like I have… Okay, I don't know _how_ or _why_ I got here. But I sure as hell _tried_ to get here."

"We should probably end our break soon." Zoey suggested. "Don't want to slack off for too long."

"Yeah, you're prob'ly right." Anne Maria agreed. "Let's-"

"Ah! There you are!" A familiar voice cheered.

The duo stood up and turned around to see Finley approaching them.

"Oh… Hey… Heh, I forgot about you…" Anne Maria admitted.

"Such a pleasure to finally be reunited." Finley remarked.

"Why are you here?" Zoey asked.

"I was attempting to track you young ladies down. You see… My plane is slightly wrecked and I was hoping you, and that pudgier woman, would pay the damages." Finley explained.

"So this don't got nothin' to do with the treasure?" Anne Maria asked.

"What treasure?" Finley confusedly replied.

"N-nothing." Zoey quickly tried to cover.

"If there's a treasure I can take my share to cover the damages." Finley suggested.

"Yeah, sure, why not." Anne Maria agreed. "Help us out and we'll give ya a cut. All we really know is that the treasure's under a big W."

"Oh, you mean like those trees we're under?" Finley asked.

"Wait, what?" Anne Maria confusedly replied

The two girls looked up and noticed that the palm tree they were relaxing under leaned to the side and formed a W shape with several other trees.

"Oh my god! We found it!" Anne Maria cheered. "C'mon Zoey! Start digging! It's right under us!"

"But I don't have a shovel." Zoey pointed out.

"Use your hands!" Anne Maria excitedly instructed. "Let's just do it!"

"Uh, you're very welcome by the way." Finley said.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Anne Maria)**

"Wow, can't believe I found it first." Anne Maria remarked. "… Prob'ly shouldn't have shouted so much before actually diggin' it up."

* * *

Elsewhere in the park, Harold and Leshawna were wandering along a path.

"Man, I feel like we're getting' nowhere." Leshawna remarked.

"We can't give up." Harold told her. "You've already come this far."

"I know that." Leshawna replied. "Somethin' tells me everything's gonna be just all right. I mean, how's Anne Maria 'sposed to beat me? No offence to her but she seems a little like she doesn't know what she's doing."

"I'd have to concur with you on that." Harold admitted. "Something tells me we should be able to find the money before she does."

"Ha! I still can't believe I found the big W!" Harold and Leshawna faintly heard Anne Maria cry out in the distance.

"Ah, goddammit…" Leshawna trailed off.

"Come on, follow the voice." Harold told her. "We've still got a chance."

"Right." Leshawna replied.

The two of them ran down the path in the direction of Anne Maria's voice.

"All right… We still got a chance." Leshawna remarked as they ran.

"Yeah, we can't give up yet." Harold motivated the both of them.

After a few more moments of running, Harold and Leshawna saw Anne Maria, Zoey, and Finley digging at the ground with their hands underneath the palm trees forming the letter W.

"Yes!" Harold cheered. "I was right about the trees."

Harold and Leshawna got closer to the three people digging.

"Hey! What'cha up to?" Leshawna asked.

"Aw dang it, I knew I was too loud." Anne Maria remarked.

"You don't look like you're getting anywhere." Leshawna observed.

"Yeah, we probably should've got some shovels or something." Zoey admitted as she stood up from the tiny hole they had dug.

"I say, would you fine young people assist us here?" Finley asked.

"Yeah, sure." Leshawna agreed. "We need this money too."

Leshawna and Harold got down to the ground and began digging at the dirt with their hands.

"Hey, ya think anyone else heard all my shouting and stuff?" Anne Maria wondered.

"Most likely." Harold stated.

"Ah, dammit…" Anne Maria grumbled. "Well, let's hope we can dig up this briefcase before anyone else gets here."

"Aha! Hold it right there!" A familiar male voice exclaimed.

The group turned around and saw Max approaching them.

"Crap, not you again…" Leshawna grumpily muttered. "Whadda you want?"

"I am here to stop you!" Max declared.

Max ran at Leshawna and jumped on to her back, clinging to her shirt.

"Am I 'sposed to be threatened by this?" Leshawna asked.

"Incredibly threatened!" Max yelled.

"Will ya give it a rest?" Leshawna requested.

"Never!" Max exclaimed.

"Look, if ya help out I'll give ya a small share of the cash." Leshawna offered. "How's that sound?"

"Hmmm… I do like money…" Max remarked. "Very well, I shall help."

Max dropped down from Leshawna's back.

"Someone hand me a shovel." Max requested.

"Uh… We don't have any of those." Zoey said.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Anne Maria)**

"In hindsight, gettin' a shovel really woulda saved a whole lotta time." Anne Maria admitted.

* * *

Max had joined the group of people scratching at the ground.

"This work is so grueling…" Max complaining. "How much longer must we do this?"

"Until a shovel just falls outta the sky, we'll be doin' this a while." Anne Maria stated.

"Oh hey guys, there's a diggin' party goin' on and I wasn't invited?" A familiar female voice asked from nearby.

The group looked over and saw Sugar approaching them.

"This that big W thing I heard about?" Sugar asked.

"Yeah, pretty much." Leshawna said.

"Hey, Sugar, ain't ya supposed to be stoppin' us?" Anne Maria pointed out.

"Eh, I'm droppin' that job. It got boring." Sugar admitted. "I don't really hate Y'all or anything. If it was that dang princess on the other hand, I'd for sure keep tryin' to stop you."

"Wanna help then?" Zoey asked

"Do I get any of the cash?" Sugar inquired.

"Yeah, sure why not." Anne Maria agreed. "Now help me dig. Just a warning, it might take a while. We don't have a shovel."

"Ah, shovels are overrated." Sugar stated. "It's more fun to use your hands."

Sugar got down to the ground and began digging at the ground.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Max)**

"Hmmph, that woman knows nothing of being evil!" Max remarked.

* * *

The group had continued their slow dig and the hole had only gotten bigger slightly.

"Ugh, this is hopeless." Max complained.

"I believe a break is in order." Finley suggested.

"I'm with ya there, pal." Sugar remarked.

"Y'all can break, but I'm keepin' it up." Leshawna said.

"Same here." Anne Maria agreed. "I feel like we're gettin' closer."

"Ah c'mon! How's everyone else here before us!?" A female voice asked from out of view.

"Calm down Lurlene. None of 'em got shovels." A second male voice said. "This'll be a cinch."

The group looked around and saw Curtis and Lurlene approaching them, carrying their shovels.

"Oh, you guys." Harold remarked. "Did you follow us here?"

"Yeah, the short feller told Lurlene 'bout the money." Curtis explained.

"Dammit, Max…" Leshawna grumbled.

"Could ya give us a hand here?" Anne Maria asked.

"Do we get a share of this cash?" Lurlene questioned.

"Yeah, sure, why not." Leshawna told them. "Now can ya help us dig?"

"Sure thing." Curtis said. "C'mon Lurlene, let's get this started."

Curtis and Lurlene approached the group and began using their shovels to dig.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Sugar)**

"Usin' shovels makes things too easy if ya want my opinion." Sugar stated. "It takes a real tough person to just get on their knees and dig up the ground with their bare hands."

* * *

Back in the real world, the eliminated contestants, the Aftermath hots, Chris, and Chef were watching all of this go down on a large screen above the virtual reality machine.

"You know, this is kinda boring." Dave remarked. "Nothing interesting is happening."

"I'm 'aving fun with it." Jasmine replied.

"So, like, which one do you guys think will win?" Geoff asked.

"It's hard to call it at this point." Sky commented. "But I feel like Leshawna has a slightly better chance."

"I dunno, for some weird reason I feel like Anne might win." Mike said. "I have no idea why I think that."

"Yeah, I'm still trying to figure out why _this_ is our final two." Jo grumpily stated. "I mean, c'mon. There are so many people here who deserve to be here more than them."

"You said it." Scott agreed, sounding equally upset. "Namely me."

"Hmm… If both of them have gotten this far I wonder if they'd do well on my apocalypse survival team…" Shawn pondered. "If only Chris did a zombie-themed challenge…"

"Man, you got a real problem." Lightning remarked.

"It's not a problem, it's called being prepared." Shawn stated. "Jasmine gets it. Right?"

"Of course I do." Jasmine replied.

"Guys, can you please be quiet?" Beth requested.

"Yeah, I wanna watch what's going on." Mike added.

"Ooh! Me too." Owen added.

"All right, fine…" Jo mumbled. "Back to the boring game."

* * *

 **(Confessional: Geoff)**

"Yeah, it's a real good thing Jo didn't make the final two." Geoff remarked.

* * *

Back inside the virtual world, the large group had made progress in digging their hole thanks to the shovels.

"Do you see anything yet?" Anne Maria asked. "Maybe a briefcase?"

"I'm lookin'." Curtis replied.

"My arms are gettin' tired." Lurlene complained. "Somebody here take over for me."

"I'm moderately famous, I should not be considered for shovel duty." Finley stated.

"I shall do it!" Harold proclaimed.

"I dunno, ya look a little… Skinny." Lurlene commented.

"Trust me, he's a lot tougher than he looks." Leshawna said.

"All right, I'll give him a shot." Lurlene remarked, handing the shovel to Harold. "C'mon pencil neck, give it yer best shot."

"Will do." Harold replied.

Harold began digging the now expanded hole with Curtis.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Harold)**

"Not to brag, but when I was ten, I shot a short film with my friends based on the well know book: Holes." Harold told the audience. "So, I had to dig _a lot_ of holes for that. This was a piece of cake."

* * *

Curtis and Harold and dug a bit more and the hole was now a bit deeper.

"Hmm…. I feel like we're gettin' somewhere." Curtis remarked.

Harold planted his shovel into the ground and a metallic clanking noise was heard.

"Gosh, I think we finally found something!" Harold exclaimed.

"Way to go!" Leshawna cheered.

"Pfft, it'd be way more impressive if ya just used your hands." Sugar remarked.

"Lady, you ain't not the one who has to dig." Curtis said.

After a few moments of digging, the duo unearthed a metal briefcase. Curtis picked it up out of the ground.

"Whew, this thing is heavy." Curtis remarked. "So, how we gonna split it up?"

Before anyone could respond, both Leshawna and Anne Maria lunged at the case and began pulling on it. This development caused Curtis to let go.

"Hey, he said we're sharin'. Lurlene pointed out.

"Can it, lady. This is _way_ more important than you think." Anne Maria stated as she tugged on the briefcase.

"Yeah, we've been workin' for this for a while…" Leshawna added, pulling on the case.

"My goodness, you two aren't criminals, are you?" Finley asked.

"What? Of course, we ain't." Anne Maria told him before looking over at Sugar and Zoey. "Hey, either of you wanna help?"

"Oh, right." Zoey said.

"Yeehaw!" Sugar cheered. "This is gonna be fun!"

"Hey, wanna get in on this?" Leshawna asked Harold and Max, still tugging on the package.

"Naturally." Harold stated.

"If I'm still getting my cut." Max said.

"Ya think we should do anything 'bout this?" Lurlene wondered.

"I'm stayin' out." Curtis stated. "Let's just see how it ends up."

The two finalists' helpers grabbed on to the briefcase and all parties began pulling.

"C'mon! Leggo!" Anne Maria demanded. "I worked hard for this!"

"We both did!" Leshawna pointed out.

"'Kay… Good point…" Anne Maria admitted, still pulling.

"Wow… You guys are really strong…" Zoey told the opposing group, sound tired.

"Ah, thank you." Max commented.

"Pretty sure she was talkin' 'bout me and Harold." Leshawna pointed out.

"Curses!" Max exclaimed. "I'll show you!"

Max began pulling harder.

"For evil!" Max exclaimed.

While he attempted to pull the briefcase away, Max lost his footing and…

…

…

…

…

…

…

Max tripped over, taking down Leshawna and Harold with him. However, Leshawna remained holding on to the briefcase and the change in position caused the case to hit Anne Maria in the face. Anne Maria stumbled back and let go of the briefcase.

"Ah, dammit!" Anne Maria exclaimed.

"Hey! I got it!" Leshawna cheered, holding the briefcase over her head.

"All right, nice going." Harold told her.

All six contestants were swallowed up by a blue light before disappearing.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Anne Maria)**

"Well, it's over… Nothin' I can do now." Anne Maria remarked before sighing. "Man… I woulda really liked all that dough."

* * *

Back in the real world, the final two and their helpers woke from the machine and removed their helmets as they stood up.

"And there you have it, folks." Chris said. "The official first placing contestant of Total Drama Winner is Leshawna! Chef, please present her with her money."

Chef approached Leshawna and handed her a briefcase.

"Her ya go, girl." Chef told her. "One million bucks. Count 'em out if ya like."

Leshawna opened the briefcase and saw several large bundles of bills inside.

"Whew, that looks way better in real life than in virtual reality." Leshawna commented.

"Congratulations Leshawna, you won the show." Chris told her.

"How's it feel to have wasted so many years of your life on this show?" Blaineley asked.

"You gotta ruin everything, man?" Leshawna questioned.

"Someone has to." Blaineley reasoned.

Leshawna was approached by her helpers as well as Topher, Jo, Owen, Beth, Lindsay, Shawn, and Jasmine.

"Nice work Leshawna." Harold told her. "You did well."

"Well, I couldn't have done it without you." Leshawna told him.

Leshawna pulled Harold close to her and the two of them kissed.

"Ahem, about my cut of the prize money." Max said.

"We'll talk 'bout that later." Leshawna told him.

"So dude, what'cha gonna do with all that money?" Owen asked. "How about you throw a party?"

"Ooh! I like totally second that." Lindsay added.

"Y'know, I'll think about it." Leshawna remarked.

"So, uh, other than Harold and Max are you sharing that with anyone else?" Topher wondered. "Specifically me?"

"You two, we didn't talk at all." Beth pointed out.

"Fair." Topher admitted.

"You and Harold were really resourceful." Shawn told Leshawna. "Tell me, have you ever considered the possibility of a zombie apocalypse?"

"Not at all." Leshawna stated.

"He gets that a lot." Jasmine said.

"Hey Jo, why're you over here?" Leshawna asked. "Thought you didn't like either of us."

"Yeah, but I heard Lightning say he was hoping the other girl would win." Jo stated. "So I'm here to spite him."

"What noble motivations." Jasmine sarcastically said.

The camera panned over to Anne Maria over by herself.

"Man… That looks like a lotta money…" Anne Maria remarked, gazing over at Leshawna and her group. "Dammit, I was so close."

Anne Maria was approached by her helpers as well as Mike, Sierra, Geoff, Sky, Scott, Dave, and Lightning.

"Ah, cheer up. Ya gotta fly a plane." Sugar told her. "That don't happen every day."

"Unless you're like, a pilot or something." Geoff added.

"Eh, I guess you're right." Anne Maria admitted. "Why're all you guys over here?"

"It's a documented fact that the small parties the runner-ups throw for themselves are pretty fun." Sierra explained.

"Does it really happen that often?" Dave asked.

"Yep. Five out of six times so far." Sierra stated. "Neither of the times I was there thouhg..."

"Yeah, that's why I was cheerin' for ya. Lightning figured you'd be more likely to lose." Lightning added.

"Wow… Thanks." Anne Maria sarcastically remarked. "So, I got no ideas for this whole 'Runner-up party' thing Sierra's talkin' 'bout. What about you? You got any restaurants or tourist traps nearby?"

"Oh, right, you're from the Canadian version of New Jersey." Scott remembered. "Well, I'm not from around here either so you've got me stumped."

"There's a nice diner up the road." Mike suggested. "I think it's called 'Joel's Place' or something."

"Oh yeah, I know there." Zoey remarked. "They have good sundaes."

"That place sounds pretty sweet." Geoff remarked. "All in favour of doing that?"

"I'm for it." Sky remarked.

"Eh, I guess so." Anne Maria replied. "I got nothing better to do."

"Guess we should all get going then." Sky said.

The camera moved over to the trio of hosts in the centre of the stage.

"Well, another season of this show concludes." Chris told the audience. "I'm your host, Chris McLean."

"And I'm Chef Hatchet." Chef continued.

"And we should probably go find the Barenaked Ladies. Don't want them too angry at us." Blaineley said.

"Good point." Chris admitted before turning back to the camera. "But for now, the show is over. So I hope you enjoyed this season of, Total. Drama. Winners!"

* * *

 **Eliminated:**

Mike, the Nice Guy (18th Place)

Max, the Super Villain (17th Place)

Lindsay, the Dumb Princess (16th Place)

Geoff, the Funnest Guy Around (15th Place)

Sugar, the Pageant Queen (14th Place)

Jasmine, the Outback Survivalist (13th Place)

Owen, the Party Animal (12th Place)

Zoey, the Indie Chick (11th Place)

Beth, the Wannabe (10th Place)

Shawn, the Conspiracy Theorist (9th Place)

Harold, the Dweeb (8th Place)

Scott, the Schemer (7th Place)

Lightning, the Athletic Overachiever (6th Place)

Jo, the Jockette (5th Place)

Sky, the Athlete & Dave, the Normal Guy (4th Place & 3rd Place)

Anne Maria, the Jersey Shore Reject (2nd PLace)

Leshawna, the Girl With An Attitude (1st Place)

* * *

 **Well, that was the story. But don't forget about the alternate ending. Please let me know what you thought about this final chapter. I had fun writing it and I hope you had fun reading it. I think I'll take a break from writing stories for a little bit. I was feeling a bit burned out towards the end of writing this. I'm probably going to just be reading other people's stories for a while. But I have some ideas and I definitely want to write them at some point. Please leave a review if you want to tell me what you think. Thanks for sticking around for this whole story.**


	21. Alternate Ending

Back inside the virtual world, the large group had made progress in digging their hole thanks to the shovels.

"Do you see anything yet?" Anne Maria asked. "Maybe a briefcase?"

"I'm lookin'." Curtis replied.

"My arms are gettin' tired." Lurlene complained. "Somebody here take over for me."

"I'm moderately famous, I should not be considered for shovel duty." Finley stated.

"I shall do it!" Harold proclaimed.

"I dunno, ya look a little… Skinny." Lurlene commented.

"Trust me, he's a lot tougher than he looks." Leshawna said.

"All right, I'll give him a shot." Lurlene remarked, handing the shovel to Harold. "C'mon pencil neck, give it yer best shot."

"Will do." Harold replied.

Harold began digging the now expanded hole with Curtis.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Harold)**

"Not to brag, but when I was ten, I shot a short film with my friends based on the well know book: Holes." Harold told the audience. "So, I had to dig _a lot_ of holes for that. This was a piece of cake."

* * *

Curtis and Harold and dug a bit more and the hole was now a bit deeper.

"Hmm…. I feel like we're gettin' somewhere." Curtis remarked.

Harold planted his shovel into the ground and a metallic clanking noise was heard.

"Gosh, I think we finally found something!" Harold exclaimed.

"Way to go!" Leshawna cheered.

"Pfft, it'd be way more impressive if ya just used your hands." Sugar remarked.

"Lady, you ain't not the one who has to dig." Curtis said.

After a few moments of digging, the duo unearthed a metal briefcase. Curtis picked it up out of the ground.

"Whew, this thing is heavy." Curtis remarked. "So, how we gonna split it up?"

Before anyone could respond, both Leshawna and Anne Maria lunged at the case and began pulling on it. This development caused Curtis to let go.

"Hey, he said we're sharin'. Lurlene pointed out.

"Can it, lady. This is _way_ more important than you think." Anne Maria stated as she tugged on the briefcase.

"Yeah, we've been workin' for this for a while…" Leshawna added, pulling on the case.

"My goodness, you two aren't criminals, are you?" Finley asked.

"What? Of course, we ain't." Anne Maria told him before looking over at Sugar and Zoey. "Hey, either of you wanna help?"

"Oh, right." Zoey said.

"Yeehaw!" Sugar cheered. "This is gonna be fun!"

"Hey, wanna get in on this?" Leshawna asked Harold and Max, still tugging on the package.

"Naturally." Harold stated.

"If I'm still getting my cut." Max said.

"Ya think we should do anything 'bout this?" Lurlene wondered.

"I'm stayin' out." Curtis stated. "Let's just see how it ends up."

The two finalists' helpers grabbed on to the briefcase and all parties began pulling.

"C'mon! Leggo!" Anne Maria demanded. "I worked hard for this!"

"We both did!" Leshawna pointed out.

"'Kay… Good point…" Anne Maria admitted, still pulling.

"Wow… You guys are really strong…" Zoey told the opposing group, sound tired.

"Ah, thank you." Max commented.

"Pretty sure she was talkin' 'bout me and Harold." Leshawna pointed out.

"Curses!" Max exclaimed. "I'll show you!"

Max began pulling harder.

"For evil!" Max exclaimed.

While he attempted to pull the briefcase away, Max lost his footing and…

…

…

…

…

…

…

Max tripped over, taking down Leshawna and Harold with him. This caused Leshawna to lose her grip on the briefcase and Anne Maria to pull it closer to her.

"Hot dog! I got it!" Anne Maria cheered, holding up the briefcase in victory.

"Wow, nice work." Zoey remarked.

"Seriously?" Leshawna asked, sounding annoyed.

All six contestants were swallowed up by a blue light before disappearing.

* * *

 **(Confessional: Leshawna)**

"Yeah… That did not go how I wanted it." Leshawna told the camera. "Well, at least I had a fun time… A million dollars would be nice though."

* * *

Back in the real world, the final two and their helpers woke from the machine and removed their helmets as they stood up.

"And there you have it, folks." Chris said. "The official first placing contestant of Total Drama Winner is Anne Maria! Chef, please present her with her money."

Chef approached Anne Maria and handed her a briefcase.

"Her ya go, girl." Chef told her. "One million bucks. Count 'em out if ya like."

Anne Maria opened the briefcase and saw several large bundles of bills inside.

"Aw yeah!" Anne Maria cheered. "I'm gonna buy so much cool stuff."

"Congratulations Anne, you won the show." Chris told her.

"How's it feel to have wasted so many years of your life on this show?" Blaineley asked.

"Why are you like this, lady?" Anne Maria asked.

"Shut up." Blianeley replied.

Anne Maria was approached by her helpers as well as Mike, Topher, Geoff, Sky, Scott, Dave, and Jo.

"Wow, can't believe you actually did it, man." Geoff remarked.

"Yeah, gonna be honest, didn't see you winning." Mike admitted.

"Same here." Sky admitted. "No offence."

"Hey, I didn't think I was gonna win either." Anne Maria confessed.

"So, uh, what'cha gonna do with the cash?" Topher asked. "Gonna… I dunno… Share it with anyone?"

"I think he wants some of your money." Sugar whispered to Anne Maria.

"Yeah, I got that." Anne Maria replied before turning to Topher. "And no, you can't have any. Maybe Zoey can have some, but I'm pretty sure she got some after All-Stars so I ain't so sure."

"That's actually pretty fair." Zoey admitted.

"Okay, seriously though, how did you win?" Jo asked.

"Yeah, you have zero skills." Scott added.

"Look, some things are just mysterious." Anne Maria said. "Like why're you're here when I'm pretty sure you two don't like me."

"Eh, I had to cheer for someone to keep from getting bored." Scott explained.

"I'm only here because Lightning went over to Leshawna." Jo said. "Even though he _said_ he was rooting for you."

"Whatever. I don't actually care." Anne Maria admitted. "I'm goin' off to the spa and y'all are welcome to join me."

"Woo! Spa day!" Sugar cheered.

"You know what, my toenails need a trim." Dave admitted. "I guess I'll go too."

The camera panned over to Leshawna by herself.

"Dammit, that did _not_ go as planned…" Leshawna muttered to herself.

Leshawna was approached by her helpers as well as Sierra, Lightning, Owen, Beth, Lindsay, Shawn, and Jasmine.

"Unbelievable, now I won't get my cut of the prize." Max complained.

"Man, I didn't get any money either." Leshawna pointed out.

"At least you still have me." Harold told her.

"Yeah, that is true." Leshawna admitted.

Leshawna pulled Harold closer and kissed him.

"Yes…" Sierra quietly said as she took out her camera and photographed the two of them.

"Well, that moment was ruined." Leshawna commented as she pulled away from Harold.

"So, got any plans now?" Beth asked.

"Sierra kept saying she wanted to follow the loser out for dinner." Lindsay said.

"Oh yeah, I think I did that with the season two loser." Leshawna remembered.

"So that's a yes on going out with all of us?" Shawn asked.

"Yeah, sure." Leshawna agreed. "Got any ideas on where to go?"

"Oh! I know a place that makes burgers bigger than your head." Owen suggested.

"Well, that certainly sounds interesting." Jasmine commented.

"All right, let's do it." Leshawna said.

The camera moved over to the trio of hosts in the centre of the stage.

"Well, another season of this show concludes." Chris told the audience. "I'm your host, Chris McLean."

"And I'm Chef Hatchet." Chef continued.

"And we should probably go find the Barenaked Ladies. Don't want them too angry at us." Blaineley said.

"Good point." Chris admitted before turning back to the camera. "But for now, the show is over. So I hope you enjoyed this season of, Total. Drama. Winners!"

* * *

 **Eliminated:**

Mike, the Nice Guy (18th Place)

Max, the Super Villain (17th Place)

Lindsay, the Dumb Princess (16th Place)

Geoff, the Funnest Guy Around (15th Place)

Sugar, the Pageant Queen (14th Place)

Jasmine, the Outback Survivalist (13th Place)

Owen, the Party Animal (12th Place)

Zoey, the Indie Chick (11th Place)

Beth, the Wannabe (10th Place)

Shawn, the Conspiracy Theorist (9th Place)

Harold, the Dweeb (8th Place)

Scott, the Schemer (7th Place)

Lightning, the Athletic Overachiever (6th Place)

Jo, the Jockette (5th Place)

Sky, the Athlete & Dave, the Normal Guy (4th Place & 3rd Place)

Leshawna, the Girl With An Attitude (2 Place)

Anne Maria, the Jersey Shore Reject (1st PLace)


End file.
